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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


Jack  Fleming  Prison  Collection 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fightingtrafficiOObellrich 


HON.  EDWIN  W.  SIMS 

The  man  most  feared  by  all  white  slave  traders 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  STAGE— ANSWERING  A  WANT. AD 

Disreputable  Theatrical  Agents  sometimes  act  as  white  slave 
traders,  alluring  positions  on  the  stage  being  the  net  used  to  catch 
young  girls, 

—Clifford  G.  Roe,  Asst.  State's  Atty.,  Cook  Co.,  Illinois  (page  167). 


*TOR  GOD'S  SAKE  DO  SOMETHING*"— General  Bootli 

Fighting  the  Traffic 
in  Young  Girls 

or 

War  on  the  White  Slave  Trade 


A  complete  and  detailed  account  of  tke  sKameless  traffic  in  youn^  girls,  tte 
methods  by  whicli  the  procurers  and  panders  lure  innocent  young  girls  away  from 
home  and  sell  them  to  keepers  of  dives.  The  magnitude  of  the  organization  and  its 
-workings.  How  to  combat  this  hideous  monster.  How^  to  save  YOUR  GIRL. 
How^  to  save  YOUR  BOY.  AVhat  you  can  do  to  help  w^ipe  out  this  curse  of  hu- 
manity.    A  book  designed  to  awaken  the  sleeping  and  protect  the  innocent. 

By  ERNEST  A.  BELL 

Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Vigilance  Association — Superintendent  of 

Midnight  Missions^  etc. 

*with  Special  Chapters  by  the  folloaving  persons: 

HON.  EDWIN  W.  SIMS.  United  States  District  Attorney.  Cliicago. 

HON.  HARRY  A.  PARKIN,  Assistant  United  States  Distiict  Attorney,  Chicatfo. 

HON.  CLIFFORD  G.  ROE,  Assistant  States  Attorney,  Cook  County.  111. 

WM.  ALEXANDER  COOTE,  Secretary  of  the  National  Vigilance  Association,  London,  Eugland 

JAMES  BRONSON  REYNOLDS,  of  tke  National  Vigilance  Committee,  New  York. 

CHARLES  N.  CRITTENTON,  President  of  tke  National  Rorence  Crittenton  Mission. 

MRS.  OPHELIA  AMIGH,  Superintendent  of  the  Illinois  Training  School  for  Girls. 

MISS  FLORENCE  MABEL  DEDRICK    Missionary  of  the  Moody  Church.  Chicago. 

MISS  LUCY  A.  HALL,  Deaconess  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Chicago. 

PRINCIPAL  D.  F.  SUTHERLAND,  Red  Water  Institute,  Red  Water,  Texas. 

DR.  WILLL\M  T.  BELFIELD,  Professor  in  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago. 

DR.  WINFIELD  SCOTT  HALL,  Professor  in  Northwestern  University  Medical  School.  Chicsgo 

MELBOURNE  P.   BOYNTON.   Pastor  of  the  Lexington  Avenue  Baptist  Cliurch,  Chicaf|o. 

THIRTY-TWO  PAGES  OF  STRIKING  PICTURES 

Shonring  the  -workings  of  the  blackest  slavery-  that  has  ever  stained 

-the  hnman  race. 


Copyright  mo 
by 

a  S.  BAJX 


CONTEI^TS 

Cliapters  not  otherwise  designated  are  by  the  SkUtor. 

Preface    • 

Introduction    IS 

Edwin  W.  Sims. 

I.    History  of  the  White  Slave  Trade 18 

II.    The  Suppression  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic 29 

William  Alexander  Coote. 

in.    The  White  Slave  Trade  of  Today 47 

Edwin  W.  Sims. 

IV.  Menace  of  the  White  Slave  Trade 61 

Edwin  W.  Sims. 

V.  A  White  Slave  Clearing  House;  A  White  Slave's 

Own  Story  74 

VI.  The  True  Story  of  Estelle  Ramon  of  Kentucky. .  80 

D.  F.  Sutherland. 

VII.  Our  Sister  of  the  Street fS 

Florence  Mabel  Dedrick. 

VIII.  More  about  the  Traffic  in  Shame 117 

Ophelia  Amigh. 

IX.  The  Traffic  in  Girls 127 

Charles  N.  Crittenton. 

X.  Warfare  Against  the  White  Slave  Traffic 139 

Clifford  G.  Roe. 

XI.  The   Boston  Hypocrisy 155 

Clifford  G.  Roe. 

XII.  The  Auctioneer  of  Souls 162 

Clifford  G.  Roe. 

XIII.  The  White  Slave  Trade  In  New  York  City 174 

By  a  Special  Contributor. 


XIV.  Barred  Windows:     How  we  Took  up  the  Fight..  190 

XV.  The  Nations  and  the  White  Slave  Traffic 199 

James  Bronson  Reynolds. 

XVI.  The  Yellow  Slave  Trade 213 

XVII.    How   Snakes   Charm   Canaries 223 

XVIII.    Procuresses,  and  the  Confession  of  One 234 

XIX.    Wanted — Fathers    and    Mothers 246 

XX.  Chicago's  White  Slave  Market 253 

XXI.  The   Failure   and    Shame   of   the   Regulation   of 

Vice 271 

XXII.  The  White  Slaves  and  the  Black  Plagues 280 

XXIII.  The  White  Slave  Traffic  and  the  Public  Health.  .289 

Dr.  Winfield  Scott  Hall. 

XXIV.  The  Vice  Diseases 299 

Dr.  William  T.  Belfield. 

XXV.  Recruiting  Grounds  of  White  Slave  Traffickers. .  .305 

Harry  A.  Parkin. 

XXVI.  Practical  Means  of  Protecting  Our  Girls 314 

Harry  A.  Parkin. 

XXVII.  Laws  for  the  Suppression  of  the  White  Slave 

Traffic    333 

Harry  A.  Parkin. 

XXVIII.    A  Pastor's  Part 398 

Melbourne  P.  Boynton. 

XXIX.  The  Story  of  the  Midnight  Mission 412 

XXX.  Helen  Chambers,  Some  Other  Girls  and  "Daisy". 432 

XXXI.  Destruction  of  the  Vice  Districts  of  Los  Angeles 

and  Des  Moines 450 

XXXII.  Conditions  in  London ...463 

Lucy  A.  Hall. 

XXXIII.  For  God's  Sake,  Do  Something 472 

POEMS. 

Why  Are  You  Weeping,  Sister? 477 

The  Red  Rose.. ^ 480 


^0  the  Jlrmy  of  Loyal  Worktrs 
who,  in  the  name  of  Qod  and 
Humanity y  have  enlisted  in  this 
Holy  war  for  the  Safety  and 
^Purity  ofWomanhood  <#^  >*•> 


PREFACE. 

"That  glory  may  dwell  in  our  land"  is  the 
motive  o£  the  writers  of  this  book.  With  a 
true  patriotism,  that  rejoices  not  in  the  iniqui- 
ties we  expose,  that  blushes  crimson  with  hu- 
miliation over  the  crimes  we  record,  that  glows 
hot  with  indignation  against  the  criminals  we 
denounce,  we  have  pursued  the  painful  neces- 
sary task  of  telling  the  truth  to  the  American 
people  concerning  evils  that  have  made  us  reel 
with  horror. 

For  the  protection  of  the  innocent,  for  the 
safeguarding  of  the  weak,  for  the  warning  of 
the  tempted  and  the  alarm  of  the  wicked,  the 
truth  must  be  told — the  truth  that  makes  us 
free. 

Therefore  we  have  used  plain  words — not 
coarse  or  vulgar,  but  chaste  and  true.  Law- 
yers of  the  highest  standing  have  introduced 
the  legal  language  with  which  the  statutes  pro- 
vide penalties  for  crimes  against  the  honor  and 
safety  of  women  and  girls.  Physicians  who 
are  professors  in  medical  colleges  among  the 
foremost  in  the  world,  men  in  reputation  for 
their  skill  and  beloved  for  their  devotion  to 
the  people's  welfare,  have  told  here  in  medical 
terminology  the  intolerable  consequences,  to 
guilty  and  innocent,  of  the  odious  business  of 


10  PREFACE 

making  commerce  of  girls  and  promoting  the 
debauchery  of  young  men.  We  are  sure  the 
time  has  come  when  millions  will  thank  these 
lawyers  and  physicians  for  breaking  the  seal 
of  secrecy  and  giving  the  people  their  birth- 
right— the  truth. 

It  is  told  that  after  Dante  had  written  his 
"Inferno"  the  women  of  Ravenna  would  turn 
pale  and  whisper  to  each  other  as  he  passed, 
"There  goes  the  man  who  has  been  in  Hell." 
Some  of  us  have  gone  to  the  abyss  and  have 
seen  things  which  are  not  lawful  for  a  man  to 
utter.  Such  as  could  fitly  be  told,  and  must 
be  told,  we  have  been  telling  for  years  past, 
knowing  that  the  truth  must  prevail. 

"Stronger  than  the  dark  the  light. 
Stronger  than  the  wrong  the  right." 

To  our  great  joy  the  magazine  having  the 
largest  circulation  in  the  world,  "Woman's 
World,"  with  more  than  two  million  subscrib- 
ers, took  up  the  appeal  for  the  safety  of  Amer- 
ican and  alien  women  and  girls  in  September  of 
last  year.  This  magazine  has  already  printed 
or  caused  to  be  printed  and  circulated  fully 
fifty  million  pages,  and  it  is  enlisted  for  the 
war — war  on  the  most  shameful  crime  of  de- 
bauching and  exploiting  the  youth  of  both 
sexes. 

This  is  a  critical  time  for  our  nation.  We 
must  now  decide  whether  to  stamp  out  the 
White  Slave  Traffic  and  its  attendant  vices,  or 


PREFACE  II 

to  go  the  broad  way  that  has  led  both  ancient 
and  modern  nations  to  destruction. 

"Today  we  fashion  destiny, 

Our  web  of  fate  we  spin. 
Today  for  all  hereafter, 

Choose  we  holiness  or  sin; 
Today  from  lofty  Gerizim 

Or  Ebal's  cloudy  crown. 
We  call  the  dews  of  blessing 

Or  the  bolts  of  cursing  down." 

Concerning  the  effect  of  vice  upon  the  des- 
tiny of  nations  the  Encylopaedia  Britannica 
(Volume  32,  page  32),  says  truly:  "Though 
it  may  coexist  with  national  vigor,  its  extrava- 
gant development  is  one  of  the  signs  of  a  rotten 
and  decaying  civilization  *  *  ♦  ^  phase 
which  has  always  marked  the  decadence  of 
great  nations." 

But  though  we  thus  speak  we  are  confident 
that  this  is  truly  the  land  of  the  free — free, 
glad,  safe  womanhood — and  the  home  of  the 
brave — ^men  brave  enough  to  protect  our  girls 
and  to  deal  with  the  White  Slave  traders  and 
all  their  sort  as  they  deserve. 


INTRODUCTION. 

By  Edwin  W.  Sims, 
United  States  District  Attorney,  Chicago. 

I  am  firmly  convinced  that  when  the  people 
of  this  nation  understand  and  fully  appreciate 
the  unspeakable  villainy  of  "The  White  Slave 
Traffic"  they  will  rise  in  their  might  and  put  a 
stop  to  it.  The  growth  of  this  "trade  in  white 
women,"  as  it  has  been  officially  designated 
by  the  Paris  Conference,  was  so  insidious  that 
it  reached  the  proportions  of  an  international 
problem  almost  before  the  people  of  the  civi- 
lized nations  of  the  world  learned  of  its  exist- 
ence. 

The  traffic  increased  rapidly,  owing  largely 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  tremendously  profitable 
to  those  depraved  mortals  who  indulged  in  it, 
and  because  the  people  generally,  until  very 
recently,  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
becoming  so  extensive.  And  even  at  this  time, 
when  a  great  deal  has  been  said  by  the  pulpit 
and  the  press  about  the  horrors  of  the  traffic, 
the  public  idea  of  just  what  is  meant  by  the 
"white  slave  traffic"  is  confused  and  indefinite. 

It  is  my  hope  and  belief  that  this  work, 
edited  by  the  scholarly  and  devoted  Ernest 
A.  Bell,  whose  life  of  tc^il  for  the  wayward  and 


14  INTRODUCTION 

the  falleii  has  endeared  him  to  all  who  know  of 
him  and  his  work,  will  do  much  to  make  the 
nature,  scope  and  perils  of  this  infamous  trade 
better  understood. 

The  characteristic  which  distinguishes  the 
white  slave  traffic  from  immorality  in  general 
is  that  the  women  who  are  the  victims  of  the 
traffic  are  forced  unwillingly  to  live  an  im- 
moral life.  The  term  "white  slave"  includes 
only  those  women  and  girls  who  are  actually 
slaves — those  women  who  are  owned  and  held 
as  property  and  chattels — ^whose  lives  are  lives 
of  involuntary  servitude.  The  white  slave 
trade  may  be  said  to  be  the  business  of  securing 
white  women  and  of  selling  them  or  exploiting 
them  for  immoral  purposes.  It  includes  those 
women  and  girls  who,  if  given  a  fair  chance, 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  good  wives 
and  mothers  and  useful  citizens. 

Only  a  little  time  ago  there  were  many 
thousands  of  our  best  citizens  who  were  unable 
to  bring  themselves  to  believe  that  an  interna- 
tional traffic  in  white  women  really  existed. 
The  statement  seemed  too  sensational  for  their 
acceptance.  If  any  readers  remain  who  are 
still  unconvinced  that  such  an  international 
traffic  is  a  fact,  let  them  consider  the  following, 
quoted  from  the  annual  report  for  1908,  of  Hon. 
Oscar  S.  Straus,  the  Secretary  of  Commerce 
and  Labor: 

"An  international  project  of  arrangement 
for  the  suppression  of  the  white-slave  traffic 
was,  on  July  25,  1902,  adopted  for  submission 


INTRODUCTION  15 

to  their  respective  governments  by  the  dele- 
gates of  the  various  powers  represented  at  the 
Paris  conference,  which  arrangement  was  con- 
firmed by  formal  agreement  signed  at  Paris 
on  May  18,  1904,  by  the  Governments  of  Ger- 
many, Belgium,  Denmark,  Spain,  France, 
Great  Britain,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Portu- 
gal, Russia,  Sweden,  Norway,  and  the  Swiss 
Federal  Council.  This  arrangement,  after  sub- 
mission to  the  Senate,  was  proclaimed  by 
President  Roosevelt  June  15,  1908,  and  is 
printed  in  full  in  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner General  of  Immigration.  The  purpose 
of  the  arrangement  is  set  forth  in  the  preamble, 
which  states  that  the  several  governments,  *be- 
ing  desirous  to  assure  to  women  who  have  at- 
tained their  majority  and  are  subjected  to  de- 
ception or  constraint,  as  well  as  minor  women 
and  girls,  an  efficacious  protection  against  the 
criminal  traffic  known  under  the  name  of  trade 
in  white  women  ("Traite  des  Blanches"),  have 
resolved  to  conclude  an  arrangement  with  a 
view  to  concert  proper  measures  to  attain  this 
purpose'." 

It  is,  of  course,  inconceivable  that  the  dis- 
tinguished representatives  of  these  great  gov- 
ernments would  have  entertained  for  consider- 
ation any  subject  not  of  vital  and  interna- 
tional importance. 

There  is  still  another  point  upon  which  I  feel 
moved  to  place  all  possible  emphasis — the  hid- 
eous depravity  and  the  fiendish  cunning  of  the 


"FRIENDS"  MEETING  EMIGRANT  GIRL  AT  THE  DOCK 

"The  girl  was  met  at  New  York  by  two  'friends'  who  took  her  in 
charge.  These  'friends'  were  two  of  the  most  brutal  of  all  the  white 
slave  traders  who  are  in  the  traffic." 

— U.  S.  Dist.  Attorney  Edwin  W.  Sims  (page  55). 

Foreign  girls  are  more  helplessly  at  the  mercy  of  white  slave  hunteri 
than  girls  at  home.  Every  year  thousands  of  girls  arriving  in  America 
from  Italy,  Sweden,  Germany,  etc.,  arc  never  heard  of  again. 


THE  FIRST  STEP 

Ice  cream  parlors  of  the  city  and  fruit  stores  combined,  largely- 
run  by  foreigners,  are  the  places  where  scores  of  girls  have  taken 
their  first  step  downward.  Does  her  mother  know  the  character  of 
the  place  and  the  man  she  is  with?   (See  page  71.) 


War  on  the  White  Slave  Trade. 


CHAPTER  T. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  WHITE  SLAVE 
TRADE. 

By  the  white  slave  trade  is  meant  commerce 
in  white  women  and  girls  for  wicked  purposes. 
Most  of  its  history  cannot  be  written,  for  two 
reasons:  That  these  crimes  are  kept  secret  as 
far  as  possible,  and  that  they  are  so  revolting 
tnat  their  details  cannot  be  published  and 
ought  not  to  be  read  anywhere  outside  of  the 
bottomless  pit. 

Crimes  against  womanhood  are  as  old  as 
r.in.  From  the  day  that  the  serpent  beguiled 
Eve  by  his  craftiness  until  now,  there  have 
been  few  days  or  nights  when  some  daughter 
of  Eve  has  not  been  deceived  or  forced  into  an 
evil  life  by  some  serpent  or  other. 

BABYLON. 

In  ancient  Babylon  the  dishonoring  of  girl- 
hood was  a  part  of  the  temple  service,  as  it  is 
to  this  day  in  many  temples  of  India.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  German  historical  scholar.  Dr. 
Grau,  the  temples  of  India  probably  derived  the 


20  WAR  ON  THE 

hideous  custom  from  Babylon,  which  the  Book 
of  Revelation  calls  "the  mother  of  the  harlot** 
and  of  the  abominations  of  the  earth."  Nt 
wonder  that  Babylon  was  denounced  by 
prophets  and  apostles,  or  that  her  crimes  of 
slavery,  cruelty,  dishonesty  and  debauchery 
brought  perpetual  ruin  upon  the  wicked  city 
and  nation.  "Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon!"  Up 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  from  Babylon,  and 
westward  among  the  Canaanites  and  Pheni- 
cians,  the  horrible  alliance  of  religion  and  lust 
extended,  until  it  reached  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece. 

GREECE. 

At  Corinth,  a  great  commercial  city  and  sea- 
port, business  shrewdness  was  linked  with  sen- 
suality and  profanation,  and  a  great  temple  of 
Venus  was  built,  where  one  thousand  priest- 
esses were  required  to  lead  a  life  of  religious 
infamy  to  make  money  for  their  despicable 
masters.  There  were  constant  importations  of 
new  girls  from  Lesbos  and  the  other  Grecian 
isles.  Then  as  now  the  devices  of  the  white 
slave  trader  were  assiduously  employed  to  keep 
up  and  increase  the  number  of  profitable  Euro- 
pean and  Asiatic  girls. 

It  is  pastime  as  well  as  business  to  these  traf- 
fickers to  drug,  to  make  drunken,  to  deceive, 
to  ensnare  or  to  debauch  by  force  the  inno- 
cent, the  confiding,  the  thoughtless,  the  weak. 
Whether  for  the  ancient  temple  of  Venus  at 
Corinth  or  for  the  dens  of  shame  in  the  white 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  21 

slave  market  of  Chicago  or  Paris,  beautiful 
victims  who  will  earn  much  money  for  their 
masters  and  captors  must  be  hunted  and 
trapped. 

At  Athens  the  lawgiver  Solon  established 
houses  of  shame  by  statute,  and  filled  them 
with  slave  girls  for  whom  there  was  no  possi- 
ble escape.  But  whoever,  man  or  woman, 
caused  a  f  reeborn  Athenian  girl  to  enter  one  of 
the  houses  incurred  the  penalty  of  death.  It 
might  be  well  if  freeborn  American  girls  were 
as  thoroughly  protected.  An  Athenian  for* 
feited  his  citizenship  on  opening  a  house  of 
shame.  American  citizenship  in  our  large 
cities  allows  the  white  slave  traders  an  as- 
tounding amount  of  political  influence. 

ROME. 

In  Rome  immoral  women  were  enrolled  by 
the  police  in  a  public  register,  and  this  public 
record  of  their  evil  life  always  remained  to  bar 
their  way  to  repentance  and  respectability. 
Modern  European  cities,  on  the  Continent,  fol- 
low this  hurtful  custom,  and  it  has  been  intro- 
duced without  authority  of  law  in  some  Amer- 
ican cities. 

Many  bakers,  barbers  and  keepers  of  taverns, 
baths  and  drug  stores  were  also  traders  in 
women.  These  depraved  traffickers  were  re- 
garded with  the  greatest  loathing  by  the  Ro- 
man people.  The  white  slave  traders  of  an- 
cient Rome  probably  differed  little  from  the 
Italian  traders  to  be  found  in  so  many  parts 


22  WAR  ON  THE 

of  the  world  today,  notably  New  York  and 
Chicago.  The  poet  Milton  tells  how  his  love 
of  purity  kept  him  in  his  youth  from  the  evils 
practised  at  Bordello's,  presumably  an  Italian 
resort  in  London.  Persons  desiring  to  know 
the  trader's  boasting  over  a  young  and  beauti- 
ful girl  who  had  come  into  his  devilish  power, 
will  find  it  described  in  the  old  English  play 
commonly  attributed  to  Shakespeare,  called 
"Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre." 

An  exceedingly  bad  example  was  set  by 
some  of  the  Roman  emperors.  Augustus  even 
in  his  old  age  sent  out  men  to  bring  him  women 
and  girls.  The  beautiful  Mallonia  stabbed  her- 
self rather  than  yield  to  the  emperor  Tiberius. 

The  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus, 
who  was  very  virtuous  and  religious  and  wise 
according  to  Roman  ideals,  persecuted  Chris- 
tians to  the  extent  of  legally  condemning 
Christian  girls  to  the  houses  of  infamy.  Young 
women  were  seized  and  required  to  sacrifice  to 
idols.  Upon  refusing  they  were  dragged 
through  the  streets  and  given  to  a  white  slaver. 

Some  beautiful  legends  have  been  preserved 
which  tell  of  miraculous  deliverance  of  Chris- 
tian girls  from  this  most  Satanic  cruelty.  St. 
Agnes,  the  story  runs,  was  seized  and  stripped, 
but  immediately  her  hair  grew  quickly  and 
covered  her  like  a  garment.  Dragged  to  a 
den  of  shame,  she  appeared  transfigured,  a 
wonderful  light  shining  from  her  body,  and 
no  one  dared  to  harm  her.    At  length  one  bold 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  23 

ruffian  came  near  her,  but  was  struck  dead  at 
her  feet  by  a  thunderbolt. 

The  emperor  Diocletian  renewed  these  ter- 
rible persecutions.  The  church's  only  retali- 
ation was  the  rescue  of  depraved  women.  Mary, 
an  Egyptian,  was  a  conspicuous  penitent,  who 
sailed  for  Jerusalem  and  spent  her  remaining 
years  virtuously  in  the  Holy  Land. 

The  Christian  emperor  Theodosius  II.,  who 
died  in  the  year  450,  laid  heavy  penalties  on 
traffickers  in  women.  Justinian,  who  came  to 
the  throne  in  527,  punished  procurers  with 
death.  He  was  merciful  toward  erring  women, 
but  was  unsparing  toward  every  one  who  ex- 
ploited them  for  gain. 

FRANCE. 

The  Latin  writers,  conspicuously  Tacitus, 
represent  the  Germans,  Franks  and  Gauls  as 
very  virtuous,  and  very  severe  in  their  punish- 
ment of  offenders.  The  earliest  known  legis- 
lation in  the  northern  kingdoms  is  in  the  Ca- 
pitularies of  Charlemagne,  who  was  crowned 
emperor  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  by  the 
Pope  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  on  Christmas  day 
in  the  year  800.  Early  in  his  reign  in  his  north- 
em  dominions  Charlemagne  enacted  that  all 
who  kept  houses  of  shame  or  lent  their  aid  to 
vice  were  to  be  scourged.  He  would  spare 
neither  bad  women  nor  vile  men. 

But  succeeding  kings  of  France,  very  many 
of  them,  were  themselves  models  not  of  virtue 
and  kingliness,  but  of  dishonor  and  debauch. 


24  WAR  ON  THE 

Many  o£  the  clergy  also  were  very  immoral, 
and  the  whole  nation  became  corrupt. 

Louis  IX.  made  the  first  earnest  effort  to 
check  the  evil.  He  issued  an  extreme  edict,  in 
1254,  that  all  immoral  woman  and  all  keepers 
and  procurers  should  be  at  once  exiled  from 
France.  After  a  reaction  Louis  renewed  his 
efforts  to  extirpate  the  iniquity,  and  his  son 
Philip  continued  to  inflict  severe  penalties. 
During  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centu- 
ries several  notorious  procurers  were  burned 
alive  at  Paris.  In  the  sixteenth  century  in 
cities  of  the  south  of  France  sometimes  a  wom- 
an of  this  detestable  class  was  thrust  into  an 
iron  cage  and  thrown  into  the  river.  When  al- 
most dead  from  drowning  she  was  drawn  out, 
and  after  a  little  the  punishment  was  repeated. 
Many  of  the  women  who  were  burnt  as  witches 
were  really  condemned  because  they  were  pro- 
curesses or  otherwise  odiously  immoral. 

The  rise  of  Chivalry  greatly  increased  the 
safety  of  good  women  and  diminished  immor- 
ality among  men.  A  higher  moral  tone  was 
imparted  to  society  everywhere.  Faithful 
preachers  cried  out  against  the  traffic  in  shame, 
the  snaring  of  young  girls  and  the  immodesty 
and  immorality  which  were  found  in  convents, 
and  even  in  churches.  In  the  reign  of  Louis 
XI.,about  1475,  Father  Maillard,  a  bold  preach- 
er of  the  time,  excoriated  the  whole  company 
of  traffickers  in  girls,  especially  procuresses 
and  citizens  who  let  their  property  for  houses 
of  shame.    The  procuresses,  he  said,  ought  to 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  25 

be  burned  at  the  stake,  and  for  women  who 
corrupted  the  clergy  he  had  no  mercy,  but  in- 
voked the  wrath  of  God  upon  them.  Louis  XL 
was  himself  extremely  immoral,  like  so  many 
of  the  kings  of  France. 

Catharine  de  Medicis,  who  became  queen  of 
France  when  her  husband  Henry  II.  ascended 
the  throne  in  1547,  exercised  a  baneful  influ- 
ence during  three  reigns.  Her  court  of  two 
hundred  ladies  introduced  from  Italy  worse 
vices  than  had  before  been  known  in  France. 
She  did,  however,  try  to  diminish  prostitution 
in  Paris. 

An  ordinance  of  1635  condemned  all  men  en- 
gaged in  what  we  now  call  the  white  slave 
trade  to  the  galleys  for  life. 

Louis  XV.  at  fifteen  years  of  age  married 
Maria,  daughter  of  Stanislas,  the  dethroned 
king  of  Poland.  The  whole  life  of  Louis  was 
one  of  idle  sensuality.  When  he  was  old  he 
established  a  seraglio  of  fifteen-year-old  girls, 
the  most  beautiful  that  could  be  bought  or 
kidnapped.  On  this  harem  he  spent  a  hundred 
million  francs,  or  twenty  million  dollars.  It 
was  he  who,  when  warned  of  the  impending 
ruin  of  his  nation,  said  "After  me  the  deluge." 
He  died,  detested  by  all,  in  1774. 

PARIS  THE  MODERN  BABYLON. 

Paris,  the  capital  of  such  kings  and  the  scene 
of  such  debauchery,  became  the  source  and 
headquarters  of  the  world-wide  white  slave 
trade  of  the  present  time.    With  the  spread  of 


26  WAR  ON  THE 

legitimate  commerce  to  every  part  of  the 
world,  the  long  experienced  traders  in  women 
sought  a  world-wide  market  for  girls.  There 
is  not  a  civilized  country  which  has  not  been 
exploited  by  the  traders,  alike  as  a  hunting 
ground  for  victims  and  as  a  market  in  which 
to  sell  them. 

All  Europe,  North  America,  Panama,  South 
America,  Egypt  and  other  parts  of  Africa,  In- 
dia, China  and  Japan  are  the  fields  of  opera- 
tion of  these  atrocious  men  and  serpentine 
women. 

By  no  means  all  the  traffickers  are  French. 
Many  are  Jews,  many  are  Italians  and  Sicil- 
ians, some  are  Austrians,  Germans,  English, 
Americans,  Greeks.  But  it  is  Paris  that  has 
made  vice  a  fine  art,  and  has  made  the  white 
slave  trade  a  wide-spread  systematized  com- 
mercial enterprise. 

It  is  as  true  as  it  is  lamentable  that  the  beau- 
tiful city  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  the  center 
of  fashion  and  of  art,  gained  the  shameful  rep- 
utation of  being  the  capital  of  the  white  slave 
trade,  and  deserved  it,  "by  merit  raised  to  that 
bad  eminence." 

In  recent  years  the  French  government  and 
people  have  felt  keenly  the  reproach  of  this 
condition,  and  have  been  foremost  in  efforts 
to  suppress  the  abominable  commerce. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  27 


WHITE  SLAVERS  IN  INDIA. 

In  1893,  during  my  missionary  service  in  In- 
dia, a  clique  of  white  slave  traders  was  dis- 
covered in  Calcutta.  They  were  found  to  be 
trafficking  not  only  in  European  girls  whom 
they  could  lure  to  India,  but  also  in  little  na- 
tive girls,  as  young  as  nine  years.  There  was 
great  indignation  in  the  capital  and  through- 
out India  when  these  criminals  were  exposed 
and  arrested. 

The  laws  of  India  were  at  that  time  inade- 
quate to  punish  them,  but  an  old  statute  was 
found  under  which  the  Viceroy  could  deport 
undesirable  aliens.  So  these  wretches,  too 
abominable  to  be  endured  in  heathendom,  were 
shipped  back  to  Europe. 

Those  were  the  first  white  slave  traders  of 
whom  I,  a  young  missionary,  had  ever  heard. 
Last  year  in  Chicago  a  French  trader  told  me 
that  he  had  been  in  India,  and  I  could  not  but 
wonder  whether  he  had  been  deported  from 
Calcutta  or  Bombay  and  made  welcome  in 
Chicago.  The  United  States  government  soon 
afterward  put  him  out  of  his  wicked  business. 

Rev.  Dr.  Homer  C.  Stuntz,  formerly  of  Cal- 
cutta, now  of  New  York,  told  me  of  a  fright- 
ened European  girl  who  nervously  rang  his 
doorbell  in  Calcutta  late  at  night.  She  had  been 
deceived  into  going  to  India  by  false  promises 
made  to  her  by  the  hunters  of  girls.  Learning 
their  real  purpose  just  in  time,  she  fled  from 
them,  and  inquiring  the  way  to  a  missionary. 


28  WAR  ON  THE 

she  was  directed  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stuntz,  with 
whom  she  was  safe,  and  thankful  a  million 
times. 

How  many  hundreds  of  innocent  American 
and  European  girls  have  been  led  away  to 
heathen  and  Mohammedan  lands,  on  false 
promises  of  good  positions  as  teachers,  gov- 
ernesses, or  even  as  missionaries,  only  the  open 
books  of  the  day  of  judgment  will  disclose. 

E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  29 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SUPPRESSION   OF  THE  WHITE 
SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

By  William  Alexander  Coote,  Secretary  Na- 
tional Vigilance  Association  for  the 
Suppression  of  the  White  Slave 
Traffic,  London,  England 

Let  me  first  of  all  greet  you  as  co-workers 
in  a  cause  which  is  very  dear  to  the  heart  of 
God,  and  which  is  really  Christianity  in  prac- 
tice. How  literally  true  it  is  that  in  this  spe- 
cial form  of  social  and  humanitarian  work  we 
are  seeking  to  save  that  which  is  lost !  If  this 
work  is  to  be  successfully  done,  if  we  are  to 
find  that  which  has  been  lost,  then  we  must 
have  a  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  search, 
and  a  close  and  intimate  co-operation  amongst 
the  searchers. 

We  may  belong  to  different  political  and 
social  camps,  we  may  even  be  as  far  apart  as 
the  poles  in  our  religious  sympathies  and  con- 
victions, but  within  sound  of  the  Divine  call 
to  this  labour,  in  the  presence  of  so  gigantic 
an  evil,  we  must  unite,  we  dare  not  act  as  iso- 
lated units  however  enthusiastic  or  clever  we 
may  be,  we  must  close  up  our  ranks,  and  not 
only  join  hands  but  also  hearts,  and  in  the 
strength  of  God,  with  a  strong  inspiration  from 


30  WAR  ON  THE 

the  Holy  One,  go  forth  to  meet  this  Apollyon 
of  evil,  and  in  the  name  of  humanity,  and  bet- 
ter still,  in  the  name  of  God,  give  battle  until 
the  foe  is  vanquished,  yea,  eternally  routed, 
the  honour  of  womanhood  vindicated,  and  the 
chains  of  lust  loosened  from  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  humanity. 

Whatever  the  results,  be  it  ours  to  remember 
that  in  this  conflict  we  are  waging  a  holy  cru- 
sade against  the  vice  of  men  who  would,  in 
their  own  selfish  vicious  interest,  besmirch  the 
purity  of  the  womanhood  of  the  world.  Let 
us  also  remember  that  in  this  war,  if  needs  be, 
we  must  not  shrink  from  the  use  of  those  car- 
nal weapons,  by  means  of  which  men  are 
brought  to  judgment  in  this  world,  and  made 
to  pay  some  penalty  for  the  deeds  which  have 
wrought  so  much  evil  in  the  lives  of  young 
women ;  but  never  let  us  forget  that  such  wea- 
pons, however  necessary,  are  not  the  weapons. 
If  the  victory  is  to  be  effective  and  final,  then 
the  weapons  of  this  warfare,  must  be  obtained 
from  the  armoury  of  God,  with  the  use  of  which 
weapons  there  is  also  promise  that  if  the  battle 
is  waged  in  His  Name  and  for  His  sake,  vic- 
tory, triumphant,  eternal,  glorious  victory  is 
assured. 

What  is  this  White  Slave  Traffic  with  the 
condemnation  of  which  the  world  is  today 
ringing?  Is  it  some  new  form  of  vice,  with 
the  introduction  of  which  the  world  is  stag- 
gered; or  is  it  the  old  in  modern  dress?  No, 
it  is  neither.    It  is  simply  the  old  vice,  in  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  31 

old  form,  doing  the  same  old  terrible  work  of 
enslavement  of  pure  young  womanhood,  for 
the  gratification  of  the  debased  and  degraded 
passions  of  men.  Lust  knows  no  mercy,  yea, 
it  finds  some  degree  of  satisfaction  in  the  cruel- 
ty inflicted  on  the  victims  of  its  unholy  greed. 

This  traffic  in  the  virtue  of  woman  is  now 
well  known.  Its  methods  are  the  same,  but  its 
results,  with  a  growing  civilization  are  more 
painful  and  destructive  to  its  victims.  It  has 
no  geographical  boundaries,  but  in  every  clime, 
this  hideous  monster  of  vice  seeks  its  victims, 
with  a  relentless  and  inhuman  ferocity.  As  one 
surveys  the  results  of  this  evil  in  every  land, 
one  is  led  to  cry  "How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long, 
before  men's  inhumanity  to  women  shall  cease, 
and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Father?" 

Permit  me,  as  a  matter  of  historical  interest, 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  simple  origin  of 
this  new  crusade  for  the  suppression  of  the 
White  Slave  Traffic,  which  had  its  birth,  un- 
der circumstances  of  great  interest  to  all  work- 
ers, in  the  year  1898.  As  the  Secretary  of  the 
National  Vigilance  Association  it  had  for 
years  been  my  duty  to  search  for  missing 
young  women,  sometimes  at  home  and  some- 
times abroad.  In  my  journeys  abroad,  prior 
to  1898,  I  had  in  some  instances  found  the 
missing  girl,  under  circumstances  of  a  most 
painful  character.  It  was  the  old  story — the 
promise  of  a  good  situation,  or  the  promise  of 
a  suitable  marriage,  were  the  means  invaria- 


32  WAR  ON  THE 

bly  used  to  entrap  and  ensnare  them.  Once  in 
the  hands  of  the  traffickers,  they  were  hurried 
away,  from  country  to  country,  until  the  high- 
est bidders  obtained  the  virtue,  honour,  and  the 
life  of  the  victims  of  these  inhuman  traffickers. 
In  my  various  journeyings  these  ghastly  facts 
were  over  and  over  again  brought  to  my  knowl- 
edge. Their  truth  I  was  unfortunately  fre- 
quently able  to  verify,  so  that  from  personal 
observation  and  knowledge  I  knew  this  state 
of  things  to  exist,  yea,  to  be  ever  on  the  in- 
crease. I  knew  that  just  as  the  honest  mer- 
chant deals  with  his  merchandise  in  the  course 
of  trade,  sending  certain  goods  to  certain  mark- 
ets of  the  world,  so  this  hideous  trade  was 
under  the  control  of  a  syndicate  of  men  and 
women,  who  bought  and  sold  the  virtue  of 
women,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  merchant 
sells  his  wares — to  the  highest  bidder. 

Here  was  indeed  a  revelation,  so  far  as  I 
personally  was  concerned.  For  a  long  time 
I  had  known  of  the  existence  of  this  traffic, 
but  I  had  no  idea  of  its  widespread  character. 
I  had  not  dreamt  of  the  scientific  and  business- 
like manner  in  which  it  was  conducted.  Here, 
indeed,  was  the  explanation  of  the  disappear- 
ance of  hundreds,  yea,  thousands,  of  girls  so 
often  reported  as  missing  from  their  homes, 
and  for  whose  return  mothers  waited  year  after 
year  in  vain. 

The  revelation  enveloped  me  as  a  dark  cloud. 
In  vain  I  tried  to  disperse  it.  Surely  there  was 
some  way  of  combating  this   gigantic   evil. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  33 

Here  indeed  was  the  Philistine  Giant  of  Evil. 
The  people  were  indifferent.  The  laws  were 
impotent.  There  was  no  public  opinion  on  the 
subject.  True,  some  of  my  journeys  to  differ- 
ent countries  had  resulted  in  the  homecoming 
of  some  who  had  been  falsely  beguiled  into 
the  way  of  evil,  but  this  was  as  nothing  com- 
pared to  that  which  appeared  to  be  impregna- 
ble to  the  forces  of  righteousness. 

The  darkness  of  the  picture  obsessed  me.  It 
clung  with  an  octopus-like  grip  to  nay  soul. 
I  truly  found  trouble  and  sorrow,  intensified 
by  the  consciousness  of  perfect  helplessness 
to  grapple  with  such  a  vast  area  of  evil.  It 
was  world-wide,  and  whatever  the  remedy,  it 
would  have  to  be  universal  in  its  application. 
This  experience  seemed  to  bring  me  to  the 
very  porch  of  hell. 

Could  nothing  be  done  to  cope  with  this 
state  of  things?  Could  earth  with  all  its  mul- 
tifarious efforts  of  Prevention  and  Rescue  find 
no  solution  of  this  fearful  problem?  Would 
no  one  be  found  able  to  fence  the  top  of  this 
Tarpeian  Rock,  over  the  precipice  of  which,  the 
virtue  of  womanhood  was  being  constantly 
flung?  Was  this  feature  of  lust  never  to  be 
quenched,  or  must  it  for  ever  be  fed  with  the 
priceless  gem  in  the  crown  of  true  woman- 
hood? Was  there  no  means  of  stopping  the 
unholy  demand,  as  that  alone  would  cause  the 
supply  to  cease? 

These  were  some  of  the  questions  which 


34  WAR  ON  THE 

came  again  and  again  to  my  mind  as  I  pon- 
dered this  mighty  question. 

As  I  thus  mused,  a  sweet  and  holy  vision 
came  to  me.  I  was  not  asleep,  neither  was  I 
fully  awake  so  far  as  this  world  was  concerned. 
The  heart  and  soul  were  in  the  throes  of  a  new 
birth.  I  know  not  whether  it  was  a  vision,  a 
dream,  or  a  Divine  message.  I  heard  no  voice, 
I  saw  no  form,  but  clear,  emphatic,  and  dis- 
tinct came  the  solution  of  the  problem.  It 
was  as  follows: 

"If  I  could  go  to  every  capital  of  Europe, 
if  I  could  interest  the  leading  people  and  gov- 
ernment of  each  country,  if  I  could  induce  the 
courts  of  Europe  to  take  up  this  matter;  if  I 
could  then  induce  the  governments  to  meet  in 
conference  and  decide  to  deal  with  it  from  an 
international  point  of  view,  surely  the  evil 
would  not  only  be  checked,  but  to  a  large  ex- 
tent would  be  eradicated."  How,  without  any 
qualifications,  I  tramped  through  Europe,  went 
to  Egypt,  America,  and  South  Africa,  is  a  story 
which  is  told  in  detail  elsewhere,  but  suffice  it 
to  say  that  every  little  point  of  the  dream  or 
vision  was  carried  out,  with  the  result  that  to- 
day there  are  established  in  every  capital  of 
Europe,  in  North  and  South  America,  in 
Egypt,  and  in  South  Africa,  large  and  influ- 
ential National  Committees  co-operating  with 
their  respective  governments  with  the  object 
of  completely  removing  this  hideous  crime 
from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

In  our  propaganda  in  Europe  it  was  not  only 


"DANGER" 

Meeting  young  girls  at  Railway  Depots  is  one  of  the  methods  of 
the  white  slave  trader.  They  promise  to  take  the  strangers  to  their 
friends ;  in  fact,  anything  to  get  them  to  accompany  them.  Once  in 
a  closed  carriage,  they  are  lost.    (See  page  68.) 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  35 

necessary  to  point  out  the  nature  of  the  dis- 
ease we  were  attacking,  but  also  the  remedy 
we  proposed. 

Having  carefully  studied  the  methods  of  the 
members  of  these  syndicates  of  evil,  we  knew 
exactly  the  kind  of  organization  needed  to 
counteract  their  wicked  designs. 

Part  of  the  programme  submitted  to  the 
people  of  Europe,  was  the  necessity  of  induc- 
ing their  respective  Governments  to  hold  an 
official  conference,  to  mutually  decide  upon 
certain  measures,  for  the  better  protection  of 
young  women  traveling  or  accepting  situations 
in  any  part  of  the  world. 

This  official  conference  was  organized,  chief- 
ly through  the  National  Vigilance  Association, 
and  the  European  Powers  and  others  were  of- 
ficially invited  by  the  Government  of  France 
to  take  part.  In  July,  1902,  in  response  to  an 
invitation  from  the  French  Government,  16 
countries  were  represented  by  36  delegates, 
who  met  at  the  Foreign  Office^  in  Paris,  to  con- 
sider what  measures  would  be  adopted  to  ef- 
fectually break  up  these  syndicates  of  evil. 
After  five  days'  deliberation  the  outcome  of 
their  labors  was  the  drafting  of  an  Interna- 
tional Agreement,  which,  in  our  opinion,  if 
adopted  by  all  civilized  countries,  would  so 
fully  protect  young  women,  that  the  moral 
risks  attendant  upon  their  travelling  in  any 
part  of  the  world,  either  for  business  or  recrea- 
tive purposes,  would  be  greatly  reduced,  if  not 
dltof^ether  done  away  with.  The  soil  being  al- 


36  WAR  ON  THE 

ready  prepared,  the  decisions  arrived  at  by  the 
Official  Conference  found  ready  acceptance  by 
the  National  Committees  of  Europe.  The  sub- 
sequent working  of  this  Agreement  has  fully 
demonstrated  its  value  and  effectiveness  in  the 
Suppression  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic. 

I  purpose  referring  to  three  of  the  clauses 
in  the  Agreement,  which  I  feel  is  a  woman's 
charter  of  moral  liberty,  and  as  it  has  been  ac- 
cepted by  all  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  by 
North  and  South  America,  the  moral  inter- 
ests of  young  women  ought  to  be  fully  pro- 
tected from  the  Machiavellian  efforts  of  the 
White  Slave  Traders. 

Article  2  of  the  International  Agreement  js 
as  follows: 

"Each  of  the  Governments  undertakes 
to  have  a  watch  kept,  especially  at  railway 
stations,  ports  of  embarkation,  and  en 
route,  for  persons  in  charge  of  women  and 
girls  destined  for  an  immoral  life.  With 
this  object,  instructions  shall  be  given  to 
the  Officials  and  all  other  qualified  per- 
sons to  obtain,  within  legal  limits,  all  in- 
formation likely  to  lead  to  the  detection 
of  criminal  traffic. 

"The  arrival  of  persons  who  clearly  ap- 
pear to  be  the  principals,  accomplices  in, 
or  victims  of,  such  traffic  shall  be  notified, 
when  it  occurs,  either  to  the  authorities 
of  the  place  of  destination,  or  to  the 
Diplomatic  or  Consular  Agents  interested, 
or  to  any  other  competent  authorities." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  37 

We  had  by  our  investigations  discovered 
that  the  chief  places  of  danger  were  the  ports 
of  embarkation  or  debarkation  and  the  railway 
stations  of  the  various  countries.  Here  it  was 
that  the  strange  young  woman  would  be 
spoken  to  in  her  own  language  by  apparently 
a  sympathetic  lady,  who  would  offer  her  every 
assistance,  even  to  providing  her  with  a  lodg- 
ing, which  the  new  arrival  in  a  strange  coun- 
try would  be  only  too  ready  to  accept.  We 
knew  this,  we  had  become  familiar  with  the 
fact  that  the  railway  stations  at  home  and 
abroad  were  the  hunting  grounds  of  men  and 
women  engaged  in  the  White  Slave  Traffic. 
It  was  on  these  facts,  and  this  evidence,  that 
Article  2  was  agreed  upon  by  the  delegates  at 
the  Official  Conference. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  fact  that  all 
laws,  however  good,  are  comparatively  useless 
unless  they  are  breathed  into  by  the  national 
life  of  the  country  where  they  exist.  Their 
use  is  in  proportion  to  the  energising  power  of 
the  people  interested  in  their  administration. 
This  Article  2  was  formulated  in  response  to 
the  desire  of  the  people,  and  when  it  was 
granted,  was  welcomed  by  them  with  warmth 
and  enthusiasm  which  augured  well  for  its 
future  successful  administration.  We  are  glad 
to  be  able  to  assert  that  the  high  hopes  to  which 
it  gave  birth  amongst  the  people  of  Europe, 
have  been  more  than  realised. 

Immediately  on  the  ratification  of  the  Agree- 
ment the  National  Vigilance  Association,  by 


38  WAR  ON  THE 

deputation,  pointed  out  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment that  the  duties  involved  in  carrying  out 
this  Article,  were  hardly  such  as  could  be  en- 
trusted to  policemen,  not  even  to  men,  who  if 
they  were  placed  at  the  ports  or  railway  sta- 
tions of  the  United  Kingdom  would  not  be 
likely  to  win  the  confidence  of  foreign  young 
women  coming  to  England.  This  apart  alto- 
gether from  the  fact  that  the  persons  stationed 
at  the  ports  and  railway  stations  would  re- 
quire to  know  several  languages,  as  well  as 
to  be  possessed  of  much  common  sense  and 
discretion.  To  undertake  this  work  this  Asso- 
ciation offered  to  engage  a  large  number  of 
lady  workers,  possessing  a  knowledge  of 
European  languages,  if  the  Government  would 
authorise  them  to  do  so.  This  was  agreed  to, 
and  the  National  Vigilance  Association  com- 
menced a  work  which  they  carried  on  for  the 
last  five  years,  during  which  time  their  work- 
ers have  met  at  the  railway  stations  in  Lon- 
don, and  at  several  of  the  most  important  Eng- 
lish ports,  16,000  young  women,  80  per  cent 
of  whom  have  been  of  foreign  nationality,  and 
quite  40  per  cent  of  whom  would  have  been 
in  moral  peril  had  it  not  been  for  the  assistance 
rendered  by  the  workers  on  their  arrival  in 
England. 

Thus  Article  2  has  done  much  more  than 
establish  a  clear  and  definite  method  of  pro- 
tection for  young  travellers.  It  has  roused  the 
heart  of  Europe,  and  drawn  the  attention  of 
the  people  to  the  need  of  being  in  attendance 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  39 

at  the  railway  stations  to  assist  young  women, 
and  to  protect  them  from  the  men  and  women 
who  frequent  those  places  for  the  purpose  of 
decoying  them  from  the  path  of  virtue. 

The  Society  "Les  Amies  de  la  Jeune  Fille," 
in  its  early  days,  realised  the  danger  to  young 
girls  travelling,  and  thus  early  commenced  to 
safeguard  them  against  it.  Much  was  done, 
but  nothing  commensurate  with  the  great  need 
that  existed. 

When  the  Governments  agreed  to  Article  2 
of  the  Protocol,  every  National  Committee  in 
Europe  felt  such  a  sense  of  their  responsibil- 
ity, that  many  of  them,  as  we  in  England, 
placed  workers  at  the  railway  stations  of  their 
respective  countries. 

But,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  develop- 
ment in  connection  with  Article  2,  was  the 
spontaneous  and  marvellous  manner  in  which 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  aroused  itself,  and 
provided  a  number  of  ladies  as  station  work- 
ers throughout  Europe,  to  look  after  and  care 
for  the  moral  welfare  of  Catholic  girls. 

The  Baroness  de  Montenach,  residing  at 
Freibourg,  Switzerland,  who  had  attended  the 
first  Congress  for  the  Suppression  of  the  White 
Slave  Traffic  held  in  London,  in  1899,  saw  the 
opportunity  which  Article  2  offered,  and  at 
once  appealed  to  the  women  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  who  responded  with  so  much  en- 
thusiasm, that  today  they  have  one  of  the  finest 
and  most  carefully  planned  International  Cath- 
olic Associations  for  Railway  Station  Work. 


40  WAR  ON  THE 

We  know  it  from  personal  observation  and 
can  speak  in  the  most  unqualified  manner  of 
the  devotion  of  the  Catholic  ladies  throughout 
Europe  who  give  their  time  and  money  for  the 
protection  primarily  of  Catholic  girls,  though 
they  are  always  ready  to  assist  girls  of  other 
creeds. 

Thus  by  means  of  Article  2  of  the  Interna- 
tional Agreement  we  now  have  Europe  cov- 
ered with  a  network  of  agencies,  which  protect 
young  girls  from  moral  trouble  in  a  most  ef- 
ficient and  striking  manner. 

The  organisation  we  have  in  Europe  is  three- 
fold, and  so  complete,  that  so  far  as  Europe  is 
concerned,  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  for  a 
young  girl  to  fall  into  moral  trouble,  if  she  will 
but  avail  herself  of  the  help  which  is  ready 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  We  have  three 
active  and  efficient  organisations  at  work — 
Les  Amies  de  la  Jeune  Fille,  primarily,  but 
not  exclusively  for  the  care  of  Protestant  girls ; 
the  International  Catholic  Association  for  be- 
friending young  girls,  primarily,  but  not  ex- 
clusively for  the  protection  of  Catholic  girls; 
and  the  ladies  connected  with  the  National 
Committees  for  the  Suppression  of  the  White 
Slave  Traffic,  who  work  at  the  railway  stations 
on  behalf  of  girls  of  all  creeds  and  all  nation- 
alities. 

The  more  we  understand  the  practical  side 
of  the  railway  station  work,  the  more  strongly 
are  we  convinced  that  in  it  we  have  the  work 
which,  properly  organised,  enthusiastically  and 


WHfTE  SLAVE  TRADE  4x 

efficiently  carried  on,  will  relieve  society  of  the 
need  of  much  of  the  philanthropic  effort  which 
comes  into  operation  when  moral  trouble  has 
overtaken  the  unfortunate  young  girl. 

I  have  left  myself  very  little  room  to  do  more 
than  simply  quote  two  of  the  other  articles  of 
that  remarkable  International  Agreement  to 
which  I  have  referred.    Article  3  says: 

"The  Governments  undertake,  when  the 
case  arises,  and  within  legal  limits  to  have 
the  declarations  taken  of  women  or  girls 
of  foreign  nationality  who  are  prostitutes, 
in  order  to  establish  their  identity  and 
civil  status,  and  to  discover  who  has 
caused  them  to  leave  their  country.  The 
information  obtained  shall  be  com- 
municated to  the  authorities  of  the  coun- 
try of  origin  of  the  said  women  or  girls, 
with  a  view  to  their  eventual  repatriation. 

"The  Governments  undertake,  within 
legal  limits,  and  as  far  as  can  be  done,  to 
entrust  temporarily,  and  with  a  view  to 
their  eventual  repatriation,  the  victims  of 
a  criminal  traffic  when  destitute  to  pub- 
lic or  private  charitable  institutions,  or  to 
private  individuals  offering  the  necessary 
security." 

This  clause  when  properly  worked  by  the 
various  philanthropic  agencies  in  connection 
with  the  authorities  will  be  the  means  not  only 
of  rescuing  many  who  have  been  flung  into  the 
way  of  shadows,  but  of  bringing  to  justice  the 


42  WAR  ON  THE 

men  and  women  responsible  for  their  moral 
ruin.  I  have  only  to  point  to  a  recent  Act  in 
America,  passed  by  Congress  more  than  12 
months  since,  based  upon  this  very  Article  to 
show  how  great  will  be  its  preventive  char- 
acter, if  put  into  operation  by  any  country. 

The  American  Act  to  which  I  refer,  states 
that  any  young  girl  of  foreign  origin,  who  is 
found  to  be  leading  a  life  of  prostitution  within 
three  years  of  her  landing  in  America,  shall  be 
arrested,  and  if  she  has  been  induced  to  lead 
the  life  by  another  person,  he  or  she,  on  proof, 
shall  be  liable  to  arrest,  and  on  conviction,  to 
very  severe  penalties,  in  the  shape  of  imprison- 
ment and  fine,  and  if  of  foreign  origin  to  de- 
portation. 

We  watched  the  beneficent  operation  of  this 
Act  in  the  United  States,  and  rejoiced  to  see 
how  conspicuously  successful  it  was  in  dealing 
with  the  traffic.  We  had  even,  through  the  In- 
ternational Bureau,  called  the  attention  of  the 
National  Committees  in  Europe  to  the  effective 
way  in  which  the  Act  was  dealing  with  the 
traffickers  in  America,  and  urged  them  to  get 
a  similar  one  passed  in  their  own  country, 
when,  to  our  intense  disappointment  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  America,  dis- 
covered a  flaw  in  one  of  its  chief  clauses,  and, 
I  am  told  that  in  consequence,  hundreds  of 
men  and  women,  who  had  been  convicted  as 
traffickers,  were  immediately  let  loose  upon 
society,  to  again  engage  in  this  lawless  traffic. 

What  a  call  to  this  Congress  to  be  up  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  43 

doing!  You  must  not  rest,  you  dare  not  hesi- 
tate, until  you  have  renewed  that  law,  and  if 
needs  be,  strengthened  it  so  as  to  deal  effective- 
ly with  these  inhuman  monsters.  This  is  the 
one  thing  for  you  to  be  doing  until  it  is  done. 
Rouse  the  public  to  a  sense  of  the  gravity  of 
the  situation.  Give  your  legislators  no  rest, 
until  they  have  amended  the  law  in  the  direc- 
tion indicated. 

In  London  the  operation  of  this  clause  has 
been  demonstrated  by  the  improved  condition 
of  our  streets.  The  open  parade  of  flaunting 
vice  has  been  much  modified,  and  the  foreign 
element  of  evil  has  found  it  far  more  difficult 
to  carry  on  its  ramifications  than  formerly. 

There  will  be  no  difference  of  opinion 
amongst  us  as  to  the  usefulness  of  Article  6 
in  the  Protection  of  Young  Girls,  which  is  as 
follows : 

"The  Contracting  Governments  under- 
take, within  legal  limits,  to  exercise  super- 
vision, as  far  as  possible,  over  the  offices 
or  agencies  engaged  in  finding  employ- 
ment for  women  or  girls  abroad." 

It  is  common  knowledge  that  the  Servant's 
Registry  Office,  has,  like  the  railway  station, 
been  too  ready  a  means  in  the  hands  of  the  un- 
scrupulous traders  in  vice.  An  application  for 
a  servant,  governess,  or  a  companion  to  a  lady, 
offering  good  wages  and  a  comfortable  home, 
in  a  foreign  country,  has  always  met  with  a 
ready  response,  and  by  such  methods  these 


44  WAR  ON  THE 

traders  have  been  able  to  command  the  flower 
of  girlhood.  How  many  scores  of  young 
women  have  by  these  means  been  inveigled 
into  a  foreign  land,  to  find  themselves  hope- 
lessly enslaved  into  a  life  which  is  worse  than 
a  living  death.  The  nature  of  this  evil  was 
well-known  to  those  who  took  part  in  the  Of- 
ficial Conference,  and  they  set  themselves  to 
work  to  prevent  these  registry  offices  being  the 
means,  even  innocently,  of  acting  as  agents  for 
the  traffickers  in  vice.  That  their  efforts  were 
effective  is  proved  in  those  countries  where 
Article  6  has  been  put  into  operation. 

We  can  bear  testimony  to  its  efficient  work- 
ing in  many  places  in  England.  Where  it  is 
in  operation,  the  registry  office  proprietors  are 
compelled  to  ascertain  the  bona  fide  character 
of  the  situations  abroad  offered  to  young 
women,  and  in  this  way  it  has  foiled  and  de- 
feated the  efforts  of  those  who  were  hitherto 
accustomed  to  use  these  agencies  to  decoy 
young  girls  to  their  moral  ruin. 

I  have  only  been  able  to  refer  to  a  few  of 
the  many  plans  for  the  better  moral  protec- 
tion of  young  women,  provided  by  the  work 
for  the  Suppression  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic, 
but  sufficient  has  been  adduced  to  show  how 
many  new  weapons  have  been  forged  in  this 
direction  by  the  International  Agreement,  for 
the  use  of  individuals  as  well  as  of  nations.  It 
is  a  woman's  charter,  which  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  regards  the  moral 
well-being  of  a  young  woman  as  a  national  as- 
set of  great  value  to  the  country  in  which  she 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  45 

lives.  But  the  Agreement  can  only  be  o£  real 
value  in  those  countries  where  the  people  have 
sufficient  interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  young 
women  to  organise  themselves  to  assist  their 
Governments  in  its  working. 

Let  me  close  this  paper  with  a  strong  ap- 
peal, a  loud  call,  to  the  men  and  women  of 
America  with  like  passions  and  sympathies 
with  their  English  brethren  across  the  At- 
lantic. We  have  much  in  common.  Our  hearts 
as  well  as  our  language  are  the  same.  We  are 
influential  and  actuated  by  the  same  religious 
impulses.  Let  us  then  as  one  people,  join  hands 
across  the  sea  in  this  holy  enterprise,  and  sweep 
from  the  world  this  awful  blight  upon  young 
womanhood.  Remember  it  is  not  a  crime 
peculiar  or  common  to  men  of  one  nationality. 
All  nations,  more  or  less,  have  taken  part.  Be 
it  ours,  at  this  Congress,  to  inaugurate  a  world' 
wide  crusade,  in  the  name  of  God  and  of  our 
common  humanity,  against  this  crime.  Rc' 
member,  the  forces  of  righteousness  and  pur* 
ity  are  stronger  than  the  forces  of  impurity* 
We  may  receive  checks  when  engaged  in  the 
conflict,  but  about  the  ultimate  victory  there 
is  no  shadow  of  doubt.  Let  us  in  strong  faith 
look  up  unto  the  hills  from  whence  cometh 
our  help,  and  the  battle,  however  prolonged, 
is  won.  Let  the  old  and  the  new  world  link 
themselves  together,  under  one  banner  and  one 
leadership,  spread  the  Light  of  Truth  on  this 
question,  and  scatter  the  men  who  delight  in 


46  WAR  ON  THE 

evil,  and  the  darkness  by  which  their  deeds  are 
surrounded. 

I  appeal  especially  to  the  women  of  America 
to  rise  in  the  dignity  of  womanhood,  and  de- 
mand the  Suppression  of  the  White  Slave  Traf- 
fic in  America,  yea  in  the  whole  world,  and  thus 
give  to  young  women  those  rights  and  that  pro- 
tection which  should  be  their  common  heritage. 
Let  me  close  by  quoting  Lowell's  words,  which 
on  many  occasions  have  proved  a  trumpet  call 
to  some  forgotten  duty: 

"Once  to  every  man  and  nation  comes  the 
moment  to  decide, 

In  the  strife  of  Truth  with  Falsehood,  for  the 
good  or  evil  side; 

Some  great  cause,  God's  new  Mejsiah,  offer- 
ing each  the  bloom  or  blight. 

Parts  the  goats  upon  the  left  hand,  and  the 
sheep  upon  the  right. 

And  the  choice  goes  on  for  ever  'twixt  that 
darkness  and  that  light." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  47 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  OF  TO- 
DAY. 

By  Edwin  W.  Sims,  United  States  District 
Attorney,  Chicago. 

There  are  some  things  so  far  removed  from 
the  lives  of  normal,  decent  people  as  to  be 
simply  unbelievable  by  them.  The  *Vhite 
slave"  trade  of  today  is  one  of  these  incred- 
ible things.  The  calmest,  simplest  statements 
of  its  facts  are  almost  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion or  belief  of  men  and  women  who  are  merci- 
fully spared  from  contact  with  the  dark  and 
hideous  secrets  of  "the  under  world"  of  the  big 
cities. 

You  would  hardly  credit  the  statement,  for 
example,  that  things  are  being  done  every  day 
in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago  and  other 
large  cities  of  this  country  in  the  white  slave 
traffic  which  would,  by  contrast,  make  the 
Congo  slave  traders  of  the  old  days  appear  like 
Good  Samaritans.  Yet  this  figure  is  almost  a 
literal  truth.  The  man  of  the  stone  age  who 
clubbed  the  woman  of  his  desire  into  insensi- 
bility or  submission  was  little  short  of  a  high- 
minded  gentleman  when  contrasted  with  the 
men  who  fatten  upon  the  "white  slave"  traffic 
in  this  day  of  social  settlements,  of  forward 


48  WAR  ON  THE 

movements,  of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Christian  En- 
deavor activities,  of  air  ships  and  wireless 
telegraphy. 

Naturally,  wisely,  every  parent  who  reads 
this  statement  will  at  once  raise  the  question: 
"What  excuse  is  there  for  the  open  discussion 
of  such  a  revolting  condition  of  things  in  the 
pages  of  a  published  book?  What  good  is 
there  to  be  served  by  flaunting  so  dark  and 
disgusting  a  subject  before  the  family  circle?" 

Only  one — and  that  is  a  reason  and  not  an 
excuse !  The  recent  examination  of  more  than 
two  hundred  "white  slaves"  by  the  office  of  the 
United  States  district  attorney  at  Chicago  has 
brought  to  light  the  fact  that  literally  thou- 
sands of  innocent  girls  from  the  country  dis- 
tricts are  every  year  entrapped  into  a  life  of 
hopeless  slavery  and  degradation  because  par- 
ents in  the  country  do  not  understand  condi- 
tions as  they  exist  and  how  to  protect  their 
daughters  from  the  "white  slave"  traders  who 
have  reduced  the  art  of  ruining  young  girls  to 
a  national  and  international  system.  I  sin- 
cerely believe  that  nine-tenths  of  the  parents 
of  these  thousands  of  girls  who  are  every  year 
snatched  from  lives  of  decency  and  compara- 
tive peace  and  dragged  under  the  slime  of  an 
existence  in  the  "white  slave  world"  have  no 
idea  that  there  is  really  a  trade  in  the  ruin  of 
girls  as  much  as  there  is  a  trade  in  Cattle  or 
sheep  or  other  products  of  the  farm.  If  these 
parents  had  known  the  real  conditions,  had  be- 
lieved that  there  is  actually  a  syndicate  which 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  49 

does  as  regular,  as  steady  and  persistent  a 
"business"  in  the  ruination  of  girls  as  the  great 
packing  houses  do  in  the  sale  of  meats,  it  is 
wholly  probable  that  their  daughters  would 
not  now  be  in  dens  of  vice  and  almost  utterly 
without  hope  of  release  excepting  by  the  hand 
of  death. 

Is  not  this,  then,  reason  enough  for  a  little 
plain  speech  to  parents? 

The  purpose  of  all  our  laws  and  statutes 
against  crime  is  the  suppression  of  crime.  The 
protection  of  the  people,  of  the  home,  of  the 
individual  is  the  purpose  which  inspires  the 
honest  and  conscientious  prosecutor.  This  is 
what  the  law  is  for,  and  if  this  result  of  pro- 
tection to  individuals  and  homes  can  be  made 
more  effective  and  more  general  by  a  state- 
ment such  as  this,  then  I  am  willing  to  make 
it  for  the  public  good.  And  the  most  direct  and 
unadorned  statement  of  facts  will,  I  think, 
carry  its  own  conviction  and  make  ever5rthing 
like  "preaching"  or  denunciation  superfluous. 

The  evidence  obtained  from  questioning 
some  250  girls  taken  in  federal  raids  on  Chi- 
cago houses  of  ill  repute  leads  me  to  believe 
that  not  fewer  than  fifteen  thousand  girls 
have  been  imported  into  this  country  in  the  last 
year  as  white  slaves.  Of  course  this  is  only  a 
guess — an  approximate — it  could  be  nothing 
else — ^but  my  own  personal  belief  is  that  it  is  a 
conservative  guess  and  well  within  the  facts  as 
to  numbers.  Then  please  remember  that  girls 
imported  are  certainly  but  a  mere  fraction  of 


HON.  CLIFFORD  G.  ROE 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  51 

— the  worst  doom  that  can  befall  a  woman. 
The  mother  who  has  allowed  her  girl  to  go  to 
the  big  city  and  work  should  find  out  what 
kind  of  life  that  girl  is  living  and  find  out  from 
some  other  source  than  the  girl  herself.  No 
matter  how  good  and  fine  a  girl  she  has  been 
at  home  and  how  complete  the  confidence  she 
has  always  inspired,  find  out  how  she  is  living, 
what  kind  of  associations  she  is  keeping.  Take 
nothing  for  granted.  You  owe  it  to  yourself 
and  to  her  and  it  is  not  disloyalty  to  go  beyond 
her  own  words  for  evidence  that  the  wolves 
of  the  city  have  not  dragged  her  from  safe 
paths.  It  is,  instead,  the  highest  form  of  loyal- 
ty to  her. 

Again,  there  is,  in  another  particular,  a  re- 
markable and  impressive  sameness  in  the 
stories  related  by  these  wretched  girls.  In  the 
narratives  of  nearly  all  of  them  is  a  passage 
describing  how  some  man  of  their  acquaintance 
had  offered  to  "help"  them  to  a  good  position 
in  the  city,  to  "look  after"  them,  and  to  "take 
an  interest"  in  them.  After  listening  to  this 
confession  from  one  girl  after  another,  hour 
after  hour  until  you  have  heard  it  repeated  per- 
haps fifty  times,  you  feel  like  saying  to  every 
mother  in  the  country:  Do  not  trust  any  man 
who  pretends  to  take  an  interest  in  your  girl 
if  that  interest  involves  her  leaving  her  own 
roof.  Keep  her  with  you.  She  is  far  safer  in 
the  country  than  in  the  big  city,  but  if  go  to 
the  city  she  must,  then  go  with  her  yourself; 
if  that  is  impossible,   place  her  with  some 


52  WAR  ON  THE 

woman  who  is  your  friend,  not  hers;  no  girl 
can  safely  go  to  a  great  city  to  make  her  own 
way  who  is  not  under  the  eye  of  a  trustworthy 
woman  who  knows  the  ways  and  dangers  of 
city  life.  Above  all,  distrust  the  "protection," 
the  "good  offices"  of  any  man  who  is  not  a  fam- 
ily friend  known  to  be  clean  and  honorable  and 
above  all  suspicion. 

Of  course  all  the  examinations  to  which  I 
have  referred  have  been  conducted  for  the  spe- 
cific purpose  of  finding  girls  who  have  been 
brought  into  this  country  from  other  lands  in 
defiance  of  the  federal  statute,  passed  by  Con- 
gress February  20, 1907.  This  act  declares  that 
any  person  who  shall  "keep,  maintain,  support 
or  harbor"  any  alien  woman  for  immoral  pur- 
poses within  three  years  after  her  arrival  in 
this  country  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor 
and  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  $5,000  and  im- 
prisonment for  five  years  at  the  discretion  of 
the  court.  When  the  department  of  justice  at 
Washington  decided  that  this  law  was  being 
violated,  the  United  States  District  Attorney  at 
Chicago  was  instructed  to  take  such  action  as 
was  necessary  to  apprehend  the  violators  of  the 
act  and  comvict  them.  One  of  the  first  steps 
required  was  the  raiding  of  the  various  dives 
and  houses  of  ill  fame  and  the  arrest  of  the 
girl  inmates,  as  well  as  the  arrest  of  the  keep- 
ers and  the  procurers  of  the  white  slaves. 

While  the  federal  prosecution  is  officially 
concerned  only  with  those  cases  involving  the 
importation  of  girls  from  other  countries — 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  53 

there  being  no  authority  under  the  present  na- 
tional statutes  for  the  federal  government  to 
prosecute  those  concerned  in  securing  white 
slaves  who  are  natives  of  this  country — it  was 
inevitable  that  the  examination  of  scores  of 
these  inmates,  captured  in  raids  upon  the  dives, 
should  bring  to  officers  and  agents  of  the  de- 
partment of  justice  an  immense  fund  of  in- 
formation regarding  the  methods  of  the  white 
slave  traders  in  recruiting  for  their  traffic  from 
home  fields. 

Whether  these  hunters  of  the  innocent  ply 
their  awful  calling  at  home  or  abroad  their 
methods  are  much  the  same — ^with  the  excep- 
tion that  the  foreign  girl  is  more  hopelessly  at 
their  mercy.  Let  me  take  the  case  of  a  little 
Italian  peasant  girl  who  helped  her  father  till 
the  soil  in  the  vineyards  and  fields  near  Naples. 
Like  most  of  the  others  taken  in  the  raids,  she 
stoutly  maintained  that  she  had  been  in  this 
country  more  than  three  years  and  that  she  was 
in  a  life  of  shame  from  choice  and  not  through 
the  criminal  act  of  any  person.  When  she  was 
brought  into  what  the  sensational  newspapers 
would  call  the  **sweat  box"  it  was  clear  that 
she  was  in  a  state  of  abject  terror.  Soon, 
however.  Assistant  United  States  District  At- 
torney Parkin,  having  charge  of  the  examina- 
tion, convinced  her  that  he  and  his  associates 
were  her  friends  and  protectors  and  that  their 
purpose  was  to  punish  those  who  had  profited 
by  her  ruin  and  to  send  her  back  to  her  little 
Italian  home  with  all  her  ^xpens^e  paid;  ^at 


54  WAR  ON  THE 

she  was  under  the  protection  of  the  United 
States  and  was  as  safe  as  if  the  king  of  Italy 
would  take  her  under  his  royal  care  and  pledge 
his  word  that  her  enemies  should  not  have  re- 
venge upon  her. 

Then  she  broke  down  and  with  pitiful  sobs 
related  her  awful  narrative.  That  every  word 
of  it  was  true  no  one  could  doubt  who  saw  her 
as  she  told  it.  Briefly  this  is  her  story :  A  "fine 
lady"  who  wore  beautiful  clothes  came  to  her 
where  she  lived  with  her  parents,  made 
friends  with  her,  told  her  she  was  uncom- 
monly pretty  (the  truth,  by  the  way),  and 
professed  a  great  interest  in  her.  Such 
flattering  attentions  from  an  American  lady 
who  wore  clothes  as  fine  as  those  of  the 
Italian  nobility  could  have  but  one  effect  on 
the  mind  of  this  simple  little  peasant  girl  and 
on  her  still  simpler  parents.  Their  heads  were 
completely  turned  and  they  regarded  the 
"American  lady"  with  almost  adoration. 

Very  shrewdly  the  woman  did  not  attempt 
to  bring  the  little  girl  back  with  her,  but  held 
out  hope  that  some  day  a  letter  might  come 
with  money  for  her  passage  to  America.  Once 
there  she  would  become  the  companion  of  her 
American  friend  and  they  would  have  great 
times  together. 

Of  course,  in  due  time,  the  money  came — 
and  the  $ioo  was  a  most  substantial  pledge  to 
the  parents  of  the  wealth  and  generosity  of  the 
"American  lady."  Unhesitatingly  she  was  pre- 
pared for  the  voyage  which  was  to  take  her  to 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  55 

the  land  of  happiness  and  good  fortune.  Ac- 
cording to  the  arrangements  made  by  letter 
the  girl  was  met  at  New  York  by  two  "friends" 
of  her  benefactress  who  attended  to  her  en- 
trance papers  and  took  her  in  charge.  These 
"friends"  were  two  of  the  most  brutal  of  all 
the  white  slave  traders  who  are  in  the  traffic. 
At  this  time  she  was  about  sixteen  years  old, 
innocent  and  rarely  attractive  for  a  girl  of  her 
class,  having  the  large,  handsome  eyes,  the 
black  hair  and  the  rich  olive  skin  of  a  typical 
Italian. 

Where  these  two  men  took  her  she  did  not 
know — but  by  the  most  violent  and  brutal 
means  they  quickly  accomplished  her  ruin. 
For  a  week  she  was  subjected  to  unspeakable 
treatment  and  made  to  feel  that  her  degrada- 
tion was  complete  and  final. 

And  here  let  it  be  said  that  the  breaking  of 
the  spirit,  the  crushing  of  all  hope  for  any 
future  save  that  of  shame  is  always  a  part  of 
the  initiation  of  a  white  slave.  Then  the  girl 
was  shipped  on  to  Chicago,  where  she  was  dis- 
posed of  to  the  keeper  of  an  Italian  dive  of 
the  vilest  type.  On  her  entrance  here  she  was 
furnished  with  gaudy  dresses  and  wearing  ap- 
parel for  which  the  keeper  of  the  place  charged 
her  $600.  As  is  the  case  with  all  new  white 
slaves  she  was  not  allowed  to  have  any  cloth- 
ing which  she  could  wear  upon  the  street. 

Her  one  object  in  life  was  to  escape  from 
the  den  in  which  she  was  held  a  prisoner.  To 
"pay  out"  seemed   the   surest   way,    and    at 


56  WAR  ON  THE 

length,  from  her  wages  of  shame,  she  was  able 
to  cancel  the  $600  account.  Then  she  asked  for 
her  street  clothing  and  her  release— only  to 
be  told  that  she  had  incurred  other  expenses 
to  the  amount  of  $400. 

Her  Italian  blood  took  fire  at  this  and  she 
made  a  dash  for  liberty.  But  she  was  not 
quick  enough  and  the  hand  of  the  oppressor 
was  upon  her.  In  the  wild  scene  that  followed 
she  was  slashed  with  a  razor,  one  gash  straight 
through  her  right  eye,  one  across  her  cheek 
and  another  slitting  her  ear.  Then  she  was 
given  medical  attention  and  the  wounds  gradu- 
ally healed,  but  her  face  was  horribly  mutilat- 
ed, her  right  eye  is  always  open  and  to  look 
upon  her  is  to  shudder. 

When  the  raids  began  she  was  secreted  and 
arrangements  made  to  ship  her  to  a  dive  in  the 
mining  regions  of  the  west.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, a  few  hours  before  she  was  to  start  upon 
her  journey  the  United  States  marshals  raid- 
ed the  place  and  captured  herself  as  well  as  hei 
keepers.  To  add  to  the  horror  of  her  situation 
she  was  soon  to  become  a  mother.  The  awful 
thought  in  her  mind,  however,  was  to  escape 
from  assassination  at  the  hands  of  the  murder- 
ous gang  which  oppressed  her. 

One  recital  of  this  kind  is  enough,  although 
instances  by  the  score  might  be  cited  which 
differ  only  in  detail  and  degree. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  the  legal  evi- 
dence thus  far  collected  establishes  with  com- 
plete moral  certainty  these  awful  facts:  That 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  57 

the  white  slave  traffic  is  a  system  operated  by 
a  syndicate  which  has  its  ramifications  from 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  Pacific  ocean, 
with  "clearing  houses"  or  "distributing  cen- 
ters" in  nearly  all  of  the  larger  cities;  that  in 
this  ghastly  traffic  the  buying  price  of  a  young 
girl  is  from  $15  up  and  that  the  selling  price 
is  from  $200  to  $600 — if  the  girl  is  especially 
attractive  the  white  slave  dealer  may  be  able 
to  sell  her  for  as  much  as  $800  or  $1,000; 
that  this  syndicate  did  not  make  less  than 
$200,000  last  year  in  this  almost  unthinkable 
commerce;  that  it  is  a  definite  organization 
sending  its  hunters  regularly  to  scour  France, 
Germany,  Hungary,  Italy  and  Canada  for  vic- 
tims; that  the  man  at  the  head  of  this  unthink- 
able enterprise  it  known  among  his  hunters  as 
"The  Big  Chief." 

Also  the  evidence  shows  that  the  hirelings  of 
this  traffic  are  stationed  at  certain  ports  of  en- 
try in  Canada,  where  large  numbers  of  immi- 
grants are  landed,  to  do  what  is  known  in  their 
parlance  as  "cutting  out  work."  In  other 
words,  these  watchers  for  human  prey  scan  the 
immigrants  as  they  come  down  the  gang  plank 
of  a  vessel  which  has  just  arrived  and  "spot" 
the  girls  who  are  unaccompanied  by  fathers, 
mothers,  brothers  or  relatives  to  protect  them. 
The  girl  who  has  been  spotted  as  a  desirable 
and  unprotected  victim  is  properly  approach- 
ed by  a  man  who  speaks  her  language  and  is 
immediately  offered  emplo3mient  at  good 
wages,  with  all  expenses  to  the  destination  to 


58  WAR  ON  THE 

be  paid  by  the  man.  Most  frequently  laundry 
work  is  the  bait  held  out,  sometimes  house- 
work or  emplojTuent  in  a  candy  shop  or  fac- 
tory. 

The  object  of  the  negotiations  is  to  "cut 
out"  the  girl  from  any  of  her  associates  and 
to  get  her  to  go  with  him.  Then  the  only 
thing  is  to  accomplish  her  ruin  by  the  shortest 
route.  If  they  cannot  be  cajoled  or  enticed  by 
promises  of  an  easy  time,  plenty  of  money,  fine 
clothes  and  the  usual  stock  of  allurements — 
or  a  fake  marriage — then  harsher  methods  are 
resorted  to.  In  some  instances  the  hunters 
really  marry  the  victims.  As  to  the  sterner 
methods,  it  is  of  course  impossible  to  speak  ex- 
plicitly, beyond  the  statement  that  intoxica- 
tion and  drugging  are  often  used  as  a  means  to 
reduce  the  victims  to  a  state  of  helplessness, 
and  sheer  physical  violence  is  a  common  thing. 

When  once  a  white  slave  is  sold  and  landed 
in  a  house  or  dive  she  becomes  a  prisoner.  The 
raids  disclosed  the  fact  that  in  each  of  these 
places  is  a  room  having  but  one  door,  to  which 
the  keeper  holds  the  key.  In  here  are  locked 
all  the  street  clothes,  shoes,  and  the  ordinary 
apparel  of  a  woman. 

The  finery  which  is  provided  for  the  girl  for 
house  wear  is  of  a  nature  to  make  her  appear- 
ance on  the  street  impossible.  Then  added 
to  this  handicap,  is  the  fact  that  at  once  the 
girl  is  placed  in  debt  to  the  keeper  for  a  ward- 
robe of  "fancy"  clothes  which  are  charged  to 
her  at  preposterous  prices.  She  cannot  escape 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  59 

while  she  is  in  debt  to  the  keeper — and  she  is 
never  allowed  to  get  out  of  debt — at  least  un- 
til all  desire  to  leave  the  life  is  dead  within 
her. 

The  examination  of  witnesses  has  brought 
out  the  fact  that  not  many  of  the  women  in 
this  class  expect  to  live  more  than  ten  years 
after  they  enter  upon  their  voluntary  or  in- 
voluntary life  of  white  slavery.  Perhaps  the 
average  is  less  than  that.  Many  died  painful 
deaths  by  disease,  many  by  consumption,  but 
it  is  hardly  beyond  the  truth  to  say  that  sui- 
cide is  their  general  expectation.  "We  all 
come  to  it  sooner  or  later,"  one  of  the  witnesses 
remarked  to  her  companions  in  the  jail,  the 
other  day,  when  reading  in  the  newspaper  of 
the  suicide  of  a  girl  inmate  of  a  notorious 
house. 

A  volume  could  be  written  on  this  ft^olting 
subject,  but  I  have  no  disposition  to  add  a 
single  word  to  what  will  open  the  iiyes  of 
parents  to  the  fact  that  white  slavery  is  an 
existing  condition — a  system  of  girl  liunting 
that  is  national  and  international  in  its  scope, 
that  it  literally  consumes  thousands  ai  girls — 
clean,  innocent  girls — every  year;  that  it  is 
operated  with  a  cruelty,  a  barbarism  that  gives 
a  new  meaning  to  the  word  fiend ;  that  it  is  an 
imminent  peril  to  every  girl  in  the  country 
who  has  a  desire  to  get  into  the  city  and  taste 
its  excitements  and  its  pleasures. 

The  facts  I  have  stated  are  for  the  awakening 
of  parents  and  guardians  of  girls.    If  I  were  to 


60  WAR  ON  THE 

presume  to  say  anything  to  the  possible  victims 
of  this  awful  scourge  of  white  slavery  it  would 
be  this:  "Those  who  enter  here  leave  hope 
behind."  The  depths  of  debasement  and  suffer- 
ing disclosed  by  the  investigation  now  in  prog- 
ress would  make  the  flesh  of  a  seasoned  man 
of  the  world  creep  with  horror  and  shams. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  6i 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MENACE  OF  THE  WHITE  SLAVE 
TRADE. 

By  Edwin  W.  Sims,  United  States  District 
Attorney,  Chicago. 

Right  at  the  outset  let  me  say  in  all  frank- 
ness that  I  would  never,  from  personal  choice, 
write  upon  a  subject  of  this  character.  Its  sen- 
sationalism is  personally  repellent  to  me.  On 
the  other  hand,  no  matter  how  carefully  the 
public  prosecutor  may  preserve  the  legal  view- 
point and  the  legal  temperament,  his  work  may 
lead  him  into  situations  where  he  feels  that 
he  cannot,  in  common  humanity,  withhold 
from  the  public  a  knowledge  of  the  things 
which  he  knows  cannot  fail  to  be  of  actual  pro- 
tective benefit  to  many  homes ;  that  to  withhold 
the  facts  and  disclosures  which  have  come  to 
him  as  an  officer  of  the  law  would  be  to  de- 
prive the  innocent  and  the  worthy  of  a  pro- 
tection which  might  save  many  a  home  from 
sorrow,  disgrace  and  ruin. 

Again:  The  results  of  this  legal  work  and 
of  the  explanations  of  the  conditions  uncovered 
in  my  former  article  have  brought  to  me  a 
gratifying  knowledge  of  the  practical  and  most 
effective  rescue  work  being  done  by  Rev. 
Ernest  A.  Bell  of  the  Illinois  Vigilance  As- 


62  WAR  ON  THE 

sociation,  of  which  Rev.  M.  P.  Boynton  is  the 
president.  These  men  and  many  of  the  settle- 
ment and  slum  workers  of  Chicago  with  whom 
I  have  come  in  contact  are  not  only  specialists 
in  this  field,  but  they  are  as  devoted  as  they 
are  practical.  More  perhaps  because  of  the 
urgent  assurances  of  the  Rev.  M.  P.  Boynton, 
Mr.  Bell  and  others  that  giving  to  the  public 
a  statement  of  actual  conditions  has  been  of 
a  great  service  to  them  in  their  hand  to  hand 
fight  than  to  any  other  reason,  I  am  moved  to 
make  another  statement. 

When  the  editor  of  the  Woman's  World 
urged  me  to  write  of  "The  White  Slave  Traffic 
of  Today,"  I  felt  that  I  had  an  official  knowl- 
edge of  facts  which  the  fathers  and  mothers 
of  the  country  had  a  right  to  know  in  order 
to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their  daughters 
falling  victims  to  the  most  hideous  form  of 
hum.an  slavery  known  in  the  world  today. 
This  consideration  moved  me  to  put  aside  my 
strong  personal  feelings  against  appearing  in 
print  in  connection  with  a  subject  so  abhorrent. 
Many  results  of  that  article  have  made  me  glad 
that  I  did  so —  and  those  results  have  also  con- 
tributed to  overcome  my  antipathy  to  a  further 
pursuit  of  that  subject.  But  in  following  this 
topic  as  I  now  do,  I  shall  again  emphasize 
the  fact  that  I  wish  to  say  what  seems  to 
be  needful  in  as  unsensational  a  way  as  possi- 
ble, and  that  I  also  wish  to  do  that  from  the 
viewpoint  of  a  public  prosecutor  who  has,  in 
the  ordinary  discharge  of  his  duties,  encoun- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  63 

tered  this  appalling  situation,  and  not  at  all 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  sentimentalist. 

So  far  as  the  matter  of  sensationalism  is 
concerned,  that  may  be  disposed  of  in  the  sim- 
ple statement  that  the  naked  recital,  in  the 
most  formal  and  colorless  phraseology,  of  the 
facts  already  brought  to  light  by  the  "white 
slave"  prosecutions  are  in  themselves  so  sen- 
sational that  the  art  of  the  most  brilliant  ora- 
tor, or  the  cunning  of  the  cleverest  writer, 
could  not  add  an  iota  to  their  sensationalism. 
And  it  may  as  well  be  said  here  that  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  even  hint  in  public  print  of  the 
revolting  depths  of  shame  disclosed  by  this  in- 
vestigation. Behind  every  word  that  can  be 
said  in  print  on  this  topic  is  a  word  of  degrada- 
tion of  which  the  slightest  hint  cannot  be 
given. 

If  there  are  any  who  are  inclined  to  feel  that 
the  term  "white  slave"  is  a  little  overdrawn,  a 
little  exaggerated,  let  them  decide  on  that 
point  after  considering  this  statement: 
"Among  the  Vhite  slaves'  captured  in  raids 
since  the  appearance  of  my  first  article  is  a 
girl  who  is  now  about  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Her  home  was  in  France,  and  when  she  was 
only  fourteen  years  old  she  was  approached  by 
a  'white  slaver'  who  promised  her  employment 
in  America  as  a  lady's  maid  or  companion. 
The  wage  offered  was  far  beyond  what  she 
could  expect  to  get  in  her  own  country — but 
far  more  alluring  to  her  than  the  money  she 
could  earn  was  the  picture  of  the  life  which 


64  WAR  ON  THE 

would  be  hers  in  free  America.  Her  surround- 
ings would  be  luxurious;  she  would  be  the  con- 
stant recipient  of  gifts  of  dainty  clothing  from 
her  mistress,  and  even  the  hardest  work  she 
would  be  called  upon  to  do  would  be  in  itself 
a  pleasure  and  an  excitement. 

"Naturally  she  was  eager  to  leave  her  home 
and  trust  herself  to  one  who  would  provide  her 
with  so  enriching  a  future.  Her  friends  of  her 
own  age  seasoned  their  farewells  to  her  with 
envy  of  her  rare  good  fortune. 

"On  arriving  in  Chicago  she  was  taken  to 
the  house  of  ill-fame  to  which  she  had  been 
sold  by  the  procurer.  There  this  child  of  four- 
teen was  quickly  and  unceremoniously  'brok- 
en in'  to  the  hideous  life  of  depravity  for  which 
she  had  been  entrapped.  The  white  slaver 
who  sold  her  was  able  to  drive  a  most  profit- 
able bargain,  for  she  was  rated  as  imcommonly 
attractive.  In  fact,  he  made  her  life  of  shame 
a  perpetual  source  of  income,  and  when — ^not 
long  ago — ^he  was  captured  and  indicted  for  the 
transportation  of  other  girls,  this  girl  was  used 
as  the  agency  of  providing  him  with  $2,000  for 
his  defense. 

"But  let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  men- 
tionable  facts  of  this  child's  daily  routine  of 
life  and  see  if  such  an  existence  justifies  the 
use  of  the  term  'slavery.'  After  she  had  fur- 
nished a  night  of  servitude  to  the  brutal  pas- 
sions of  vile  frequenters  of  the  place,  she  was 
then  compelled  each  night  to  put  off  her  tawdry 
costume,  array  herself  in  the  garb  of  a  scrub- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  65 

woman  and,  on  her  hands  and  knees,  scrub  the 
house  from  top  to  bottom.  No  weariness,  no 
exhaustion,  ever  excused  her  from  this  drudg- 
ery, which  was  a  full  day's  work  for  a  strong 
woman. 

"After  her  cleaning  was  done  she  was  al- 
lowed to  go  to  her  chamber  and  sleep — locked 
in  her  room  to  prevent  her  possible  escape — 
until  the  orgies  of  the  next  day,  or  rather  night, 
began.  She  was  allowed  no  liberties,  no  free- 
dom, and  in  the  two  and  a  half  years  of  her 
slavery  in  this  house  she  was  not  even  given 
one  dollar  to  spend  for  her  own  comfort  or 
pleasure.  The  legal  evidence  shows  that  dur- 
ing this  period  of  slavery  she  earned  for  those 
who  owned  her  not  less  than  eight  thousand 
dollars — and  probably  ten  thousand  dollars!" 

If  this  is  not  slavery,  I  have  no  definition  for 
it. 

Let  me  make  it  entirely  clear  that  the  white 
slave  is  an  actual  prisoner.  She  is  under  the 
most  constant  surveillance,  both  by  the  keeper 
to  whom  she  is  "let'*  and  by  the  procurer  who 
owns  her.  Not  until  she  has  lost  all  possible 
desire  to  escape  is  she  given  any  liberty. 

Many — ^very  many — letters  have  been  re- 
ceived from  parents  who  read  the  first  article 
on  this  subject.  A  considerable  number  of 
them  are  from  ministers  of  the  gospel,  from 
officers  and  members  of  law  and  order  leagues, 
v/oman's  clubs  and  kindred  organizations.  But 
there  is  a  pathetic  reminder  which  does  not 

come  from  the  public-spirited  servants  of  the 
s 


66  WAR  ON  THE 

common  good.  These  letters  are  from  the 
fathers  and  mothers  whose  fears  and  sus- 
picions were  aroused  by  the  warning  that  the 
girl  who  has  left  her  home  in  the  country,  gone 
up  to  the  city  and  does  not  come  home  to  visit, 
needs  to  be  looked  up. 

Before  me,  as  I  write,  is  a  letter  from  a  father 
which  is  a  tragedy  in  a  page.  He  begins  the 
note  by  saying  that  the  warning  has  aroused 
him  to  inquire  after  his  "little  girl."  There  is 
a  pathetic  pride  in  his  admission  that  she  was 
considered  an  uncommonly  "pretty  girl"  when 
she  left  her  home  to  take  a  position  in  Chicago. 
Her  letters,  he  states,  have  been  more  and  more 
infrequent,  but  that  she  does  occasionally 
write  home,  and  sometimes  encloses  a  small 
amount  of  money.  From  the  tone  of  the  fa- 
ther's note  it  is  evident  that,  while  he  is  a  trifle 
anxious,  he  asks  that  his  daughter  be  "looked 
up"  rather  to  confirm  his  feelings  of  confidence 
that  she  is  all  right  than  otherwise. 

A  glance  at  the  address  where  she  was  to  be 
found  left  no  possible  question  as  to  the  fate 
which  had  overtaken  this  daughter  of  a  coun- 
try home.  So  far  as  a  knowledge  of  the  girl's 
mode  of  life  is  concerned,  no  investigation  was 
necessary — the  location  named  being  in  the 
center  of  Chicago's  "red  light"  district. 

While  the  case  was  a  sad  one  there  appeared 
to  be  no  violation  of  the  Federal  laws,  the  girl 
having  come  from  a  neighboring  state.  A 
Federal  prosecution  against  those  detaining 
her  was,  therefore,  impossible.    However,  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  67 

case  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Bell  of 
the  Illinois  Vigilance  Association.  Through 
his  efforts  she  was  rescued  and  shortly  there- 
after returned  to  her  mother  and  brothers  and 
sisters  who  had  supposed  that  she  was  hold- 
ing a  respectable,  but  poorly  paid  position. 
They,  however,  welcomed  a  very  different  per- 
son from  the  pretty  girl  who  went  out  from 
that  home  to  make  her  way  in  the  big  city. 
She  was  pitifully  wasted  by  the  life  which  she 
had  led,  and  her  constitution  is  so  broken 
down  that  she  cannot  reasonably  expect  many 
years  of  life,  even  under  the  tenderest  care. 
What  is  still  worse,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied 
that  her  moral  fibre  is  shattered  and  the  work 
of  reclamation  must  be  more  than  physical. 

The  "white  slaves"  who  have  been  taken  in 
the  course  of  the  present  prosecution  have, 
generally,  been  very  grateful  for  the  liberation 
and  glad  to  return  to  their  homes.  It  has  been 
necessary — for  their  own  protection  as  well  as 
for  other  reasons — to  commit  some  of  these  un- 
fortunates to  various  prisons  pending  the  trial 
of  the  cases  in  which  they  are  to  appear  as  wit- 
nesses, and  practically  every  one  of  them  gives 
unmistakable  evidence  that  impr/.sonment  is  a 
welcome  liberation  by  comparison  with  the  life 
of  "white  slavery." 

Now  as  to  the  practical  means  which  parents 
should  use  to  prevent  this  unspeakable  fate 
from  overtaking  their  daughters.  They  cannot 
do  it  by  assuming  that  their  daughter  is  all 
light  and  that  she  will  take  care  of  herself  in 


68  WAK  ON  THE 

the  big  city.  In  a  large  measure  it  seems  im- 
possible to  arouse  parents — especially  those  in 
the  country— to  a  realization  that  there  is  in 
every  big  city  a  class  of  men  and  women  who 
live  by  trapping  girls  into  a  life  of  degradation 
and  who  are  as  inhumanely  cunning  in  their 
awful  craft  as  they  are  in  other  instincts;  that 
these  beasts  of  the  human  jungle  are  as  unbe- 
lievably desperate  as  they  are  unbelievably 
cruel,  and  that  their  warfare  upon  virtue 
is  as  persistent,  as  calculating,  and  as  un- 
ceasing as  was  the  warfare  of  the  wolf  upon 
the  unprotected  lamb  of  the  pioneer  folk  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Western  frontier. 

I  cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  coun- 
try girl  is  in  greater  danger  from  the  "white 
slavers"  than  the  city  girl.  The  perusal  of  the 
testimony  of  many  "white  slaves"  enforces  this 
conclusion.  That  is  because  they  are  less  so- 
phisticated, more  trusting  and  more  open  to 
the  allurements  of  those  who  are  waiting  to 
prey  upon  them. 

It  is  a  fact  which  parents  of  girls  in  the  coun- 
try should  remember  that  the  "white  slavers" 
are  busy  on  the  trains  coming  into  the  city  and 
make  it  a  point  to  "cut  out"  an  attractive  girl 
whenever  they  can.  This  "cutting  out"  pro- 
cess (I  use  the  technical  term)  consists  of  mak- 
ing the  girl's  acquaintance,  gaining  her  confi- 
dence and,  on  one  pretext  or  another,  inducing 
her  to  leave  the  train  before  the  main  depot  is 
reached.  This  is  done  because  the  various  pro* 
tective  and  law  and  order  organizations  have 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  6g 

watchers  at  the  maiii  railroad  stations  who  are 
trained  to  the  work  of  "spotting,"  and  quickly 
detect  a  girl  in  the  hands  of  one  of  these  human 
beasts  of  prey.  Generally  these  watchers  are 
women  and  wear  the  badges  of  their  organiza- 
tions. 

But  suppose  that  the  girl  from  the  country 
does  not  chance  to  fall  in  with  the  "white  slav- 
er" on  the  train,  that  she  reaches  the  city  in 
safety,  becomes  located  in  a  position — or  per- 
haps in  the  stenographic  school  or  business 
college  which  she  has  come  to  attend — and  se- 
cures a  room  in  a  boarding  house.  No  human 
being,  it  seems  to  me,  is  quite  so  lonely  as  the 
young  girl  from  the  country  when  she  first 
comes  to  the  city  and  starts  in  the  struggle  of 
life  there  without  acquaintances.  All  her  in- 
stincts are  social,  and  she  is,  for  the  time  being, 
almost  desolately  alone  in  a  wilderness  of 
strange  human  beings.  She  must  have  some 
one  to  talk  to — it  is  the  law  of  youth  as  well  as 
the  law  of  her  sex  to  crave  constant  compan- 
ionship. And  the  consequences?  She  is  sen- 
timentally in  a  condition  to  prepare  her  for  the 
slaughter,  to  make  her  an  easy  prey  to  the  wiles 
of  the  "white  slave"  wolf. 

The  girl  reared  in  the  city  does  not  have  this 
peculiar  and  insidious  handicap  to  contend 
with;  she  has  been— from  the  time  she  could 
first  toddle  along  the  sidewalk — educated  in 
wholesome  suspicion,  taught  that  she  must  not 
talk  with  strangers  or  take  candy  from  them^ 
that  she  must  withdraw  herself  from  all  ad*^ 


70  WAR  ON  THE 

varices  and,  in  large  measure,  regard  all  save 
her  own  people  with  distrust.  As  she  grows 
older  she  comes  to  know  that  certain  parts  of 
the  city  are  more  dangerous  and  more  "wick- 
ed" than  others;  that  her  comings  and  goings 
must  always  be  in  safe  and  familiar  company; 
that  her  acquaintanceships  and  her  friendships 
must  be  scrutinized  by  her  natural  protectors 
and  that,  altogether,  there  is  a  definite  but  un- 
defined danger  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  the 
city  for  the  girl  or  the  young  woman  which  de- 
mands a  constant  and  protective  alertness. 

The  training  is  almost  wholly  absent  in  the 
case  of  the  country  girl ;  she  is  not  educated  in 
suspicion  until  the  protective  instinct  acts  al- 
most unconsciously;  her  intercourse  with  her 
world  is  almost  comparatively  free  and  unre- 
strained; she  is  so  unlearned  in  the  moral  and 
social  geography  of  the  city  that  she  is  quite 
as  likely,  if  left  to  her  own  devices,  to  select 
her  boarding  house  in  an  undesirable  as  in  a 
safe  and  desirable  part  of  the  city;  and,  in  a 
word,  when  she  comes  into  the  city  her  inno- 
cence, her  trusting  faith  in  humanity  in  gen- 
eral, her  ignorance  of  the  underworld  and  her 
loneliness  and  perhaps  homesickness,  conspire 
to  make  her  a  ready  and  an  easy  victim  of  the 
"white  slaver." 

In  view  of  what  I  have  learned  in  the  course 
of  the  recent  investigation  and  prosecution  of 
the  "white  slave"  traffic,  I  can  say,  in  all  sin- 
cerity, that  if  I  lived  in  the  country  and  had  a 
young  daughter  I  would  go  any  length  of  hard- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  71 

ship  and  privation  myself  rather  than  allow 
her  to  go  into  the  city  to  work  or  to  study — 
unless  that  studying  were  to  be  done  in  the 
very  best  type  of  an  educational  institution 
where  the  girl  students  were  always  under  the 
closest  protection.  The  best  and  the  surest 
way  for  parents  of  girls  in  the  country  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  clutches  of  the  "white 
slaver"  is  to  keep  them  in  the  country.  But  if 
circumstances  should  seem  to  compel  a  change 
from  the  country  to  the  city,  then  the  only  safe 
way  is  to  go  with  them  into  the  city ;  but  even 
this  last  has  its  disadvantages  from  the  fact 
that,  in  that  case  the  parents  would  themselves 
be  unfamiliar  with  the  usages  and  pitfalls  of 
metropolitan  life,  and  would  not  be  able  to  pro- 
tect their  daughters  as  carefully  as  if  they  had 
spent  their  own  lives  in  the  city. 

One  thing  should  be  made  very  clear  to  the 
girl  who  comes  up  to  the  city,  and  that  is  that 
the  ordinary  ice  cream  parlor  is  very  likely  to 
be  a  spider's  web  for  her  entanglement.  This 
is  perhaps  especially  true  of  those  ice  cream 
saloons  and  fruit  stores  kept  by  foreigners. 
Scores  of  cases  are  on  record  where  young 
girls  have  taken  their  first  step  towards  "white 
slavery"  in  places  of  this  character.  And  it  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  a  week  does  not 
pass  in  Chicago  without  the  publication  in 
some  daily  paper  of  the  details  of  a  police  court 
case  in  which  the  ice  cream  parlor  of  this  type 
is  the  scene  of  a  regrettable  tragedy.  The  only 
safe  rule  is  to  keep  away  from  places  of  this 


72  WAR  ON  THE 

kind,  whether  in  a  big  city  like  Chicago  or  in 
a  large  country  town.  I  believe  that  there  are 
good  grounds  for  the  suspicion  that  the  ice 
cream  parlor,  kept  by  the  foreigner  in  the  large 
country  town,  is  often  a  recruiting  station, 
and  a  feeder  for  the  "white  slave"  traffic.  It 
is  certain  that  this  is  the  case  in  the  big  city, 
and  many  evidences  point  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  is  a  kind  of  fellowship  among 
these  foreign  proprietors  of  refreshment  par- 
lors which  would  make  it  entirely  natural  and 
convenient  for  the  proprietor  of  a  city  estab- 
lishment of  this  kind,  who  is  entangled  in  the 
"white  slave"  trade,  to  establish  relations  with 
a  man  in  the  same  business  and  of  the  same  na- 
tionality in  the  country  town,  I  do  not  mean 
to  intimate  by  this  that  all  the  ice  cream  and 
fruit  "saloons"  having  foreign-born  proprietors 
are  connected  with  the  "white  slave"  traffic — 
but  some  of  them  are,  and  this  fact  is  sufficient 
to  cause  all  careful  and  thoughtful  parents  of 
young  girls  to  see  that  they  do  not  frequent 
these  places. 

In  this  article  it  is  of  course  impossible  to 
more  than  hint  at  the  protective  measures 
which  conscientious  parents  of  girls  should 
employ  in  order  to  make  the  way  safe  for  their 
daughters.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Judge 
Lindsay  of  Denver,  Judge  Mack  of  Chicago, 
and  Mr.  Edward  W.  Bok  of  the  Ladies'  Home 
Journal,  are  right  in  insisting  upon  greater 
frankness  between  parents  and  children  and 
that  every  child  should  have  a  sex  education 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  73 

at  home  instead  of  being  compelled  to  pick  it 
up  from  contaminating  sources  on  the  street 
and  at  school.  And  I  may  add  that  the  world 
owes  a  debt  to  these  men  who  have  handled 
this  delicate  and  difficult  problem  in  a  practical 
as  well  as  a  powerful  manner;  and  I  feel  im- 
pelled to  add  that,  in  face  of  the  horrifying  dis- 
closures brought  to  me  in  the  form  of  legal  ev- 
idence, every  boy  and  girl  of  high  school  age 
should  be  taught  something  of  the  awful  phys- 
ical as  well  as  the  moral  consequences  which 
lurk  behind  allurements  of  the  life  in  which 
the  "white  slave"  is  the  central  figure.  These 
things  cannot  be  presented  in  the  public  prints, 
but  the  father  who  keeps  close  to  his  boy  and 
the  mother  who  is  a  companion  to  her  daugh- 
ter may  reveal  these  things,  in  the  home,  in  a 
way  which  may  save  almost  untold  suffering. 
And  to  such  parents  I  would  say  that  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  United  States  District  At- 
torney's office  in  Chicago  have  brought  togeth- 
er, as  legal  evidence,  a  mass  of  facts  as  to  san- 
itary conditions  in  the  districts  where  the 
"white  slaves"  are  kept,  which  are  horrifying 
and  scarcely  capable  of  exaggeration. 


76  WAR  ON  THE 

Czar  is  only  "the  little  father,"  as  the  Russian 
people  call  him.  May  the  Great  Father  in 
heaven  help  his  deeply  wronged  daughters,  in 
a  way  that  shall  break  in  pieces  their  oppress- 
ors. 

The  den  of  the  Dufours  had  an  income  of 
$102,720  in  the  year  1907,  and  $41,000  in  the 
first  five  months  of  1908.  One  white  slave  was 
made  to  earn  for  them  in  May,  1908,  the  sum 
of  $723.  These  figures  were  taken  from  their 
own  account  books,  which  were  seized  by  the 
United  States  government  after  the  Dufours 
fled  to  Paris. 

This  terrible  place  was  both  a  receiving  and 
a  distributing  station,  and  also  a  wide  open 
immoral  resort,  patronized  by  thousands  of 
young  men — ^who  are  the  ultimate  white  slav- 
ers, as  they  pay  the  expenses  of  the  white  slave 
trade.  From  this  central  clearing  house  girls 
were  shipped  to  Denver,  San  Francisco  and 
every  place  where  the  Dufours  had  correspon- 
dents. All  this  was  revealed  by  their  own  doc- 
uments after  the  United  States  had  driven  this 
tiger  and  tigress  back  to  Paris. 

Soon  after  we  had  initiated  the  public  agita- 
tion against  the  white  slave  horror  in  Chicago 
I  received  three  letters  from  a  victim  of  the 
French  traders.  Such  parts  of  the  letters  as 
can  be  made  public  are  here  given.  These  let- 
ters have  supplied  both  information  and  inspir- 
ation to  the  workers  who  first  brought  this 
infamous  traffic  to  public  notice  in  Chicago. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  77 

A  WHITE  SLAVEYS  OWN  STORY. 

"I  want  you  to  know  everything  I  have  wit- 
nessed in  my  three  years  of  slavery.  I  was  first 
sold  in  Custom  House  Place,  by  a  young  man 

working  for  Mr. ,  traveling  the  city  and 

little  towns,  or  wherever  he  could  find  girls, 

"Here  we  were,  always  from  fifteen  to  eigh- 
teen girls,  most  of  us  very  young.  The  man 
who  bought  me  made  us  work  like  real  slaves 
and  then  never  gave  us  our  money  even  if  it 
was  shamefully  earned.  His  place  was  always 
full  of  so-called  detectives,  and  if  some  one 
came  to  claim  some  one  of  us,  quick  she  was 
slipped  to  some  other  town. 

"Pictures  of  foreign  girls  would  arrive  by 
mail,  and  if  one  was  pretty  enough  they  would 
wire  to  Paris  and  say,  'Send  parcel  at  once.' 
They  arrive  by  different  ports — New  York, 
Boston,  Quebec,  San  Francisco — and  those 
poor  unfortunates  are  all  claimed  by  some  one 
pretending  to  be  an  aunt,  or  father,  or  husband. 

"Letters  are  received  by  the  resort  keepers 
from  all  the  states,  and  I  believe  from  all  the 
prisons  of  the  world.  If  any  one  could  read  all 
of  those  men's  mail,  I  think  one  would  learn 
horrible  things. 

"Also  we  never  can  receive  our  mail  direct, 
for  the  keeper  opens  the  letters,  and  if  they  are 
indifferent  they  are  closed  and  given  to  us,  but 
if  they  are  any  way  wrong  in  his  eyes  we  never 
s^^  th^m. 

"If  we  escape  and  insist  on  not  returning, 


78  WAR  ON  THE 

they  will  send  some  one  after  us  to  propose 
that  we  leave  for  Denver,  San  Francisco,  China 
or  Panama.  Most  of  those  men  who  make 
their  living  off  those  girls  are  old  thieves  and 
gamblers,  and  most  of  them  have  served  terms 
in  prison.  There  are  very  few  girls  who  would 
tell,  for  those  bad  men  surely  would  kill  them 
if  they  found  out  who  gave  them  away. 

"If  one  girl  is  a  good  money-maker,  they 
make  her  take  one  of  those  men  to  support. 
They  say  if  she  does  not  do  this,  she  is  not  re- 
spected by  their  class  of  people.  They  take  all 
those  poor  girls'  money  every  night,  and  they 
send  them  back  to  work  the  next  day  penni- 
less. If  they  should  not  make  enough  for  them 
they  are  beaten,  and  sometimes  killed. 

"When  those  runners  bring  us  to  those 
houses,  they  keep  us  sometimes  weeks  to  teach 
us  what  to  say  in  case  the  police  or  some  one 
would  try  to  rescue  us,  and  with  the  threat  to 
kill  us  if  ever  we  would  tell. 

"Some  one  ought  to  do  his  duty  and  make 
war  on  those  horrid  men.  They  simply  take 
girls  for  their  slaves  in  all  the  country.  For 
even  if  we  are  weak,  some  one  with  courage 
ought  to  help  us  not  to  be  persuaded  by  those 
men. 

"I  am  certainly  glad  that  all  the  men  are  not 
bad,  that  some  one  takes  our  part.  You  can 
be  sure  that  most  of  the  girls  are  happy  that 
some  one  came  to  make  us  strong. 

"Have  courage!  God  is  with  you,  and  many 
of  the  slaves." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  79 

It  is  well  known  that  some  of  these  brutal 
traffickers  were  legally  hanged  in  California 
for  murdering  the  women  on  whose  earnings 
they  were  living. 

E.  A.  B. 


80        WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  ESTELLE  RA- 
MON OF  KENTUCKY. 

By  Principal  D.  F.  Sutherland,  Red  Water, 
Texas. 

She  is  one  to  be  pitied,  and  not  slandered. 
She  was  as  pure  as  the  air  which  she  breathed 
in  her  humble  home  among  the  blue  hills  of  the 
winding  Cumberland.  "She  was  light  of  heart 
and  gay  of  wing  as  Eden's  garden  bird." 

John  and  Amanda  Ramon,  after  they  were 
married,  bought  a  little  farm  and  settled  down 
near  the  battlefield  of  Mill  Springs.  John  was 
one  of  these  great,  big,  good-looking,  honest 
and  hard-working  men  from  the  mountains. 
His  wife,  Amanda  Ramon,  was  a  refined  and 
well  educated  Kentucky  woman  and  a  woman 
who  loved  to  be  with  the  "society"  folks.  She 
loved  to  wear  fine  dresses  and  spent  more  in 
this  way  than  her  husband  could  really  afford, 
and  this  caused  him  to  have  to  work  very  hard 
early  and  late.  He  went  to  clearing  and  im- 
proving his  little  farm  and  everybody  was  talk- 
ing about  what  a  noble  fellow  young  John  Ra- 
mon was  and  how  well  he  seemed  to  be  getting 
along.  His  wife  did  not  seem  to  be  satisfied  to 
live  in  the  hills.  She  wanted  John  to  sell  out 
and  move  to  Somerset. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  8i 

Two  years  passed  away  on  the  little  farm, 
and  Estelle  Ramon  was  born.  John  promised 
Amanda  when  Estelle  grew  old  enough  to  at- 
tend school  that  he  would  sell  out  and  move  to 
town.  Years  passed  on  and  John  Ramon  con- 
tinued to  work  hard,  and  by  hard  work  and 
good  management  he  began  to  prosper.  He 
built  a  new  house  and  bought  Estelle  a  piano. 
His  wife  still  wanted  to  move  to  town,  but 
John  didn't  want  to  go.  He  told  his  wife  that 
he  had  nothing  in  town  and  no  work  there  to 
do,  that  they  were  beginning  to  get  along 
fairly  well  and  the  best  thing  for  them  to 
do  was  to  let  well  enough  alone,  and  that 
he  wanted  her  to  release  him  from  his 
promise  to  move  to  town,  which  by  the 
entreaties  of  Estelle  she  reluctantly  did.  John 
was  happy  in  his  home  life  with  his  wife 
and  little  girl,  who  had  now  reached  the 
age  of  fifteen  years.  She  had  from  the  time 
she  could  toddle  around  been  constantly 
with  her  father.  In  the  fields  making  the 
hay,  gathering  the  crops,  seeing  after  the 
stock,  you  would  find  Estelle  and  her  father 
always  together.  After  supper  she  would 
climb  upon  her  father's  knee  and  he  would 
always  tell  her  some  little  story  to  please  her. 
She  would  ride  the  horse  to  the  pasture  and 
John  would  carry  her  back  in  his  big,  strong 
arms.  She  was  essentially  a  papa's  girl,  and 
her  father  almost  idolized  his  child.  When 
she  was  old  enough  she  attended  the  country 
school  close  by  and  was  known  as  the  bright- 


82  WAR  ON  THE 

est  pupil  in  the  school.  She  learned  music 
from  her  mother,  and  it  was  her  chief  delight 
to  sing  and  play  in  the  evenings  for  her  par- 
ents. She  was  loved  by  everybody  in  the 
neighborhood,  young  and  old.  At  an  early  age 
she  joined  the  church,  and  she  could  always 
be  found  in  her  place  in  the  church  and  in  the 
Sunday  school,  first  as  a  pupil  of  the  Sunday 
school  and  later  on  as  a  teacher  of  a  class  of 
little  boys  and  girls.  It  was  said  that  in  after 
years  every  boy  and  girl  in  her  class  became 
model  Christians. 

One  day  a  messenger  was  sent  in  haste  from 
the  schoolhouse  to  John  Ramon's  home  to  tell 
him  to  come  at  once,  that  Estelle  had  become 
violently  ill  while  playing  on  the  school  play=»^ 
ground.  John  Ramon  turned  white  and  came 
near  fainting,  strong  man  as  he  was,  when 
this  saddest  of  all  news  reached  him.  In  a  few 
moments  he  had  hitched  up  the  horses  to  a 
carriage  and  he  and  his  wife  were  going  as 
fast  as  the  horses  could  take  them  to  their 
child,  whom  they  found  in  a  dangerous  condi- 
tion. She  was  carried  in  the  arms  of  her 
father  to  the  carriage  and  driven  home.  In  a 
short  time  the  doctor  reached  the  Ramon  home 
and  was  by  the  bedside  of  Estelle.  She  had 
been  stricken  down  with  typhoid  fever.  John 
Ramon,  with  his  life  almost  gone  out  of  him, 
waited  for  the  doctor's  report  from  the  sick 
room.  When  he  came  out  he  asked  him  what 
were  the  chances  for  his  child  to  get  well.  The 
doctor  told  him  that  she  had  a  severe  case 


Daisy  at  seventeen — "Young  and  so  Fair." 


Daisy  at  fourteen 


■ 

^^^^^^f    -  ^^^^^^^.f" 

PI 

Si9 

^^■1 

\™JiH 

^^p^ 

^ 

■^1^1 

^^^mjfU^^^M 

W  DAISY  UNDER  TWENTY,  DYING  IN  THE  POOR-HOUSE 

Less  than  three  years  after  leaving  her  home  she  was  found  in  the  poor-house,  forgotten 
by  family  and  friends,  and  dying  of  a  loathsome  disease 


I 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  83 

of  typhoid  fever,  and  the  chances  of  recovery 
were  against  her,  but  with  close  attention  and 
nursing  she  had  a  chance  to  get  well.  John 
Ramon  said,  "Doctor,  I  am  willing  to  take  that 
chance."  Day  after  day  and  night  after  night 
John  Ramon  sat  by  the  bedside  of  his  child 
as  she  lingered  between  life  and  death.  The 
doctor  would  come  and  shake  his  head  and 
say,  "She  is  no  better."  For  eight  days  and 
nights  John  Ramon  had  eaten  scarcely  any- 
thing and  slept  not  a  wink.  On  the  evening 
of  the  eighth  day  the  doctor  came  as  usual. 
He  told  John  Ramon  that  this  night  would  de- 
termine whether  his  child  would  die  or  get 
well,  that  there  would  be  a  change  before  day- 
light for  better  or  for  worse.  After  giving 
John  Ramon  directions  and  telling  him  to  wake 
him  up  if  he  saw  any  change  in  the  child,  the 
doctor  lay  down  to  get  a  much  needed  rest  and 
some  sleep.  The  clock  ticked  off  the  hours  and 
no  change  came.  The  clock  struck  one,  two 
three.  John  Ramon  had  never,  during  all  the 
long  and  weary  night  hours,  taken  his  eyes 
off  his  child.  There  he  sat  in  great  trouble 
and  sorrow,  watching  her.  The  clock  struck 
three,  and  Estelle  opened  her  eyes,  looked  at 
John  Ramon,  and  said,  "Is  this  you,  papa?" 
He  knew  that  she  was  better.  He  rushed  into 
the  room  where  the  doctor  was  sleeping  and 
awoke  him.  The  doctor,  not  knowing  whether 
the  change  was  for  the  better  or  worse,  has- 
tened into  the  sick  room  and  felt  of  Estelle's 
pulse  and  said,  "John  Ramon,  your  child  is 

6 


84  WAR  ON  THE 

better,  the  crisis  is  passed.  She  will  get  well/* 
The  joy  of  John  Ramon  and  his  wife  could 
hardly  be  restrained.  The  doctor  told  them 
that  they  must  be  quiet,  or  they  might  excite 
her  and  make  her  worse.  The  crisis  had  passed 
and  Estelle  improved  rapidly  and  was  soon 
able  to  sit  up  and  ride  out  with  her  parents. 
John  and  Amanda  Ramon  were  filled  with  joy 
and  a  great  weight  seemed  to  be  lifted  from  the 
whole  neighborhood  on  account  of  the  recov- 
ery of  Estelle,  for  she  was  dearly  loved  by  all 
who  knew  her. 

On  an  adjoining  farm  to  John  Ramon  lived 
a  neighbor  by  the  name  of  David  Scott,  as  tru*^ 
a  man  as  ever  lived  among  the  hills  of  tht 
Cumberland  river.  David  Scott  had  one  son, 
William  Scott,  as  noble  a  lad  as  ever  lived.  He 
was  honest,  true,  and  like  Estelle,  was  loved 
by  all.  William  was  just  two  years  older  than 
Estelle,  and  together  they  had  played  from 
early  childhood.  During  Estelle's  sickness  no 
one,  unless  her  parents,  seemed  more  anxious 
about  her  than  did  William  Scott.  Never  a 
day  or  night  passed  but  that  William  Scott 
called  at  the  Ramon  home  to  inquire  about 
Estelle  during  the  whole  time  of  her  illness. 
After  she  got  well  and  took  her  place  in  the 
church  and  the  Sunday  school  William  Scott 
was  there  too.  He  thought  that  there  was 
none  like  her,  and  she  thought  a  great  deal  of 
him. 

One  day  about  three  months  after  Estelle 
had  recovered  Mrs.  Ramon  said  to  her  hus- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  85 

band,  "John,  have  you  noticed  that  William 
Scott  is  showing  too  much  attention  to  Es- 
telle?  I  don't  like  it  and  we  must  stop  it  or  the 
first  thing  we  know  he  will  be  coming  here  to 
pay  his  attentions  to  her.  Another  thing,  I 
believe  that  Estelle  thinks  a  good  deal  of  him." 
"Well,  suppose  she  does,"  said  John  Ramon, 
'*is  not  William  a  good  boy  and  a  good  compan- 
ion for  Estelle,  or  anybody  else?"  "Yes,  I 
know  that  he  is  a  good  boy,  but,  if  we  continue 
to  let  Estelle  associate  with  him  as  she  has 
been  doing,  the  first  thing  we  know  he  will 
be  thinking  of  marrying  her,  and  I  could  not 
bear  the  thought  of  having  William  Scott  for 
a  son-in*law."  "I  don't  suppose  there  is  any 
danger  of  our  having  to  lose  our  Estelle  soon, 
but  when  she  is  old  enough  to  marry,  I  would 
rather  she  would  marry  William  Scott  than 
anybody  that  I  know."  "What!  Estelle  marry 
Bill  Scott?  I  would  rather  see  her  dead  and 
buried."  "Well,  Amanda,  what  objections  can 
you  find  to  William  Scott?"  "I  have  no  par- 
ticular objection  to  him,  but  he  is  not  good 
enough  for  Estelle*  I  want  her  to  marry  a 
man  who  knows  how  to  take  her  into  society. 
I  want  her  to  marry  a  professional  gentleman, 
and  not  a  greenhorn  like  William  Scott." 
"Well,  Amanda,  I  don't  care  so  much  about 
Estelle  going  into  what  some  people  please  to 
call  'society,'  but  I  want  her  to  marry  a  true 
man  who  can  and  will  make  her  life  happy.  I 
have  no  fault  to  find  with  William  Scott.  I 
know  that  he  is  thinking  a  good  deal  of  Es- 


86  WAR  ON  THE 

telle,  and  that  she  thinks  quite  well  of  him, 
and  if  they  should  want  to  get  married  some- 
time I  am  not  going  to  interfere."  "You  may 
not  interfere,  but  I  tell  you  now  that  Estelle 
shall  never  marry  William  Scott."  Estelle  came 
in  from  school,  and  this  ended  the  conversation. 
Estelle  and  William  had  told  each  other  from 
childhood  that  when  they  got  old  enough  they 
were  going  to  get  married.  On  Sunday  before 
the  conversation  between  John  and  Amanda 
Ramon,  William  Scott  had  reminded  Estelle 
of  their  long  ago  agreement,  and  Estelle  had 
told  him  that  they  would  carry  out  this  agree- 
ment some  day  when  they  were  older.  Estelle 
one  day  told  William  that  her  father  liked  him, 
but  that  her  mother  hated  him  and  that  it 
would  be  best  that  he  quit  coming  to  her  home. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  William  and  Es- 
telle plighted  each  other  their  love  and  he  told 
her  that  nothing  but  death  could  ever  separate 
him  from  her,  and  that  he  would,  if  necessary, 
give  his  life  for  her.  In  after  years  they  both 
well  remembered  these  words. 

John  Ramon  continued  to  work  hard  and  to 
prosper.  One  day  when  he  came  home  from 
town  he  told  his  wife  and  Estelle  that  rafting 
logs  down  the  river  was  dangerous,  and  that 
if  anything  should  happen  to  him  he  wanted 
to  leave  them  a  living,  and,  for  this  reason,  he 
had  his  life  insured  today  while  in  town  for 
$5,000.  Heavy  rains  were  falling  up  the  Cum- 
berland and  John  Ramon  was  working  hard, 
he  and  his  hired  hands,  to   get  the  log  raft 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  87 

ready  to  go  down  the  river  and  carry  his  logs 
to  Nashville  when  the  river  got  high  enough. 

One  evening  John  learned  that  a  head  rise 
was  coming  down  the  Cumberland,  and  he  and 
all  hands  were  making  ready  to  cut  the  raft 
loose  and  carry  it  to  the  saw  mills  in  Nash- 
ville as  he  had  been  doing  year  after  year. 
Late  on  this  evening  John  Ramon  kissed  his 
wife  and  Estelle  good-by.  He  lingered  longer 
than  was  his  custom,  and  said  that  somehow 
he  felt  uneasy  as  if  something  was  going  to 
happen.  At  dark  he  reached  the  river  and  at 
ten  o'clock  they  heard  the  head  rise  coming. 
The  raft  was  cut  loose  and  the  rise  struck  it 
and  carried  it  out  into  the  middle  of  the  river. 
The  rushing  waters  bore  down  so  heavily  on 
the  raft  that  it  broke  and  went  to  pieces  in 
the  middle  of  the  rushing  waters.  John  Ramon 
became  entangled  among  some  of  the  logs  and 
could  not  loose  himself.  He  called  for  help, 
but  no  help  could  reach  him  in  the  darkness 
of  the  night  and  the  fury  of  the  waters.  His 
voice  rang  out  above  the  noise  of  the  waters, 
and  he  cried  out  the  last  words  he  ever  spoke 
on  earth,  "William,  I'm  gone.  Promise  me 
that  you  will  take  care  of  Estelle."  The  voice 
of  William  Scott  rang  out  "I  swear  to  you 
that  I  will  do  it."  John  Ramon  went  down; 
others  of  the  crew  escaped  on  logs. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  describe  the  great 
sorrow  in  the  Ramon  home  when,  three  days 
later,  the  body  of  John  Ramon  was  found  and 
brought  home  for  burial.    Who  can  tell  the 


88  WAR  ON  THE 

heaviness  which  bore  down  upon  the  heart  of 
Estelle?  He  was  buried,  and  week  after  week 
Estelle  would  carry  flowers  and  place  them 
upon  his  grave. 

A  year  now  has  passed  away,  and  Estelle 
is  seventeen,  one  of  the  most  loveable  and 
beautiful  girls  in  Southern  Kentucky.  The 
death  of  her  father  had  mellowed  her  life.  She 
was  a  woman  in  ways,  if  a  child  in  years. 
William  Scott  had  watched  her  faithfully  as 
he  had  promised  her  father  in  the  hour  of  his 
death.  Mrs.  Ramon  yet  determined  more  than 
ever  that  Estelle  should  never  marry  William 
Scott.  She  had  set  her  heart  on  some  profes- 
sional man  for  Estelle's  husband  who  knew 
how  to  make  her  a  belle  of  society.  She  was 
the  only  counsellor  of  her  daughter,  and  in 
every  way  did  she  endeavor  to  cause  her  to 
break  with  young  Scott.  She  often  pictured  to 
her  the  grand  life  she  might  live  with  some 
educated  gentleman  in  the  highest  society ;  that 
her  beauty  and  training  could  and  would  make 
her  admired  by  everybody,  and  that  she  should 
not  throw  her  chances  away  upon  Bill  Scott. 
She  would  never  allow  Scott  to  call  upon  Es- 
telle, and  managed  to  keep  Estelle  for  the  most 
part  out  of  his  company. 

One  day  a  well-dressed  and  handsome  young 
man  came  into  the  Ramon  neighborhood.  He 
gave  it  out  that  he  was  an  artist  from  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  and  had  come  to  make  some 
sketches  of  the  beautiful  scenery  along  the 
Cumberland.    He  was  polite  and  gentlemanly 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  89 

in  his  manners,  a  good  conversationalist  and 
entertaining.  This  artist,  as  he  was  thought 
to  be,  was  introduced  into  the  Ramon  home 
and  soon  became  a  great  favorite  of  Mrs.  Ra- 
mon, and  he  did  not  fail  to  show  every  cour- 
tesy and  attention  to  the  fair  Estelle.  This 
artist  soon  found  out  that  his  success  depend- 
ed, not  upon  the  girl,  but  upon  her  mother. 
He  had  been  telling  Mrs.  Ramon  of  the  beauty 
and  the  accomplishments  of  her  daughter,  and 
how  she  would  shine  in  society  if  ever  given  an 
opportunity.  He  did  not  fail  to  impress  upon 
her  his  own  importance  and  society  connec- 
tions. This  suited  Mrs.  Ramon  exactly,  and 
she  determined  to  marry  Estelle  to  the  artist. 
He  declared  to  the  mother  his  great  and  un- 
dying love  for  her  daughter,  and  how  it  would 
be  the  delight  of  his  life  to  give  her  the  chance 
in  the  world  to  which  her  beauty  so  justly  en- 
titled her.  Little  by  little  did  the  mother,  her 
child's  only  adviser,  succeed  in  winning  her 
over  to  her  way  of  thinking.  The  artist  had 
declared  his  love  to  Estelle  herself.  She  hesi- 
tated, and  thought  of  young  Scott,  whose  heart 
she  knew  was  breaking.  Her  mother  persist- 
ed and  the  artist  used  his  blandishments,  and 
soon  it  was  given  out  that  Estelle  Ramon 
would  be  married  to  the  Cincinnati  artist. 
When  this  reached  the  ears  of  William  Scott, 
he  was  nearly  prostrated  by  the  terrible  blow. 
He  wrote  Estelle  a  letter  in  which  he  told  her 
of  the  promise  that  he  had  made  to  her  dying 
father,  and  that  he  was  going  to  keep  that 


go  WAR  ON  THE 

promise.  He  warned  her  against  marrying  this 
strange  young  man,  of  whom  she  knew  noth- 
ing. Estelle  when  she  read  this  letter  came 
near  declining  to  marry  the  artist.  Her  own 
heart  told  her  that  William  Scott  was  right, 
but  the  artist  and  the  mother  persisted.  For 
fear  that  Estelle  would  yet  refuse  to  marry  the 
artist,  the  wedding  day  was  set  for  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday.  Sunday  came,  and  Estelle, 
as  pale  as  death,  walked  out  on  the  floor,  and 
she  and  the  artist  were  married.  How  happy 
was  the  mother;  how  sad  were  Estelle  and 
William  Scott! 

Soon  the  Ramon  heme  and  all  the  property 
were  sold,  preparatory  to  taking  Estelle  and 
her  mother  to  the  city.  The  $5000  of  insur- 
ance and  the  $3000  which  the  home  and  other 
property  were  sold  for  were  turned  over  to  the 
artist  to  invest  in  a  home  in  the  citv.  Mrs. 
Ramon  was  to  visit  her  people  for  a  short  while 
and  Estelle  and  the  artist  were  to  go  on  and 
make  ready  the  home  in  the  city.  On  the  morn- 
ing before  Estelle  left  she  received  a  note  from 
William  Scott,  saying  that  if  ever  she  needed 
his  assistance  she  would  get  it.  She  and  the 
artist  took  the  train  at  Somerset,  and  Estelle 
Ramon  was  whirled  away  to  her  doom.  She 
was  carried  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  her  hus' 
band  told  her  that  they  would  spend  a  week 
before  looking  out  for  a  home.  She  spent  this 
week  in  a  lodging  house  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
city.  At  the  end  of  this  week  the  artist  told 
her  that  they  had  better  rest  up  another  week 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  91 

before  they  began  looking  around.  The  sec- 
ond week  passed  away  as  the  first,  and  when 
he  tried  to  put  her  off  again  she  grew  suspi- 
cious and  became  alarmed  for  the  first  time. 
She  told  him  that  he  must  get  the  home,  or  that 
he  had  to  take  her  back  to  her  mother.  He 
went  out  and  pretty  soon  came  back  with  a 
telegram  from,  he  told  her,  a  friend  of  his  in 
Cleveland,  inviting  them  to  visit  Cleveland  and 
procure  a  home  there.  Reluctantly  she  went 
with  the  artist  to  Cleveland,  where  they  were 
met  by  some  one  in  a  closed  carriage  and  driven 
to  a  house,  which  she  soon  learned  was  a  house 
of  ill-fame.  On  reaching  this  place  she  was 
carried  to  a  room  in  a  secluded  part  of  the 
building.  Her  husband  then  informed  her 
where  she  was  and  that  here  she  would  have  to 
remain.  That  he  was  done  with  her,  and  for 
her  to  give  his  regards  to  her  mother  if  they 
ever  met  again;  that  he  was  much  obliged  to 
her  for  the  $8000  in  cash,  and  that  he  wished 
her  a  good  time  with  the  madam.  Estelle 
fainted,  and  this  devil  turned  on  his  heels, 
walked  away  and  has  never  been  heard  of  since. 
The  madam  knew  how  to  treat  girls  who  faint- 
ed, for  she  had  seen  them  faint  in  her  house 
before,  and  she  brought  Estelle  back  to  con- 
sciousness. Who  can  picture  now  the  horrors 
which  rose  up  before  Estelle?  It  can  not  be 
done,  and  I  must  leave  it  for  the  imagination 
of  the  reader.  In  vain  did  Estelle  beg  and 
plead  to  be  let  go.  Useless  were  her  piteous 
moans  for  freedom.    The  madam  told  her  that 


92  WAR  ON  THE 

she  had  bought  her  and  paid  for  her,  and  that 
she  was  going  to  keep  her ;  that  the  best  thing 
she  could  do  was  to  quiet  down  and  submit  to 
her  fate  willingly,  and  was  informed  of  what 
she  was  expected  to  do  and  had  to  do.  The 
madam  told  her  that  she  had  often  paid  as 
much  as  $ioo  for  pretty  girls  like  her,  but 
that  she  only  had  to  pay  $50  for  her  by  sol- 
emnly promising  that  she  would  not  let  her 
get  away.  Three  months  she  was  confined  in 
this  prison.  It  is  beyond  the  pov/er  of  man  to 
describe  the  darkness,  the  blackness,  the  fear- 
fulness  and  the  horrors  of  her  life  now.  Her 
only  hope  was  the  words  of  William  Scott. 
She  knew  that  he  meant  every  word  he  said, 
and  would  rescue  her  if  possible.  How  could 
he  find  her,  was  the  question  she  would  ask 
herself  in  her  despair.  Yet  she  hoped  against 
hope  that  in  some  way  or  other  he  would  find 
her. 

Three  months  had  passed  away  and  the 
mother  of  Estelle  had  heard  no  tidings  of  her 
child.  She  was  wild,  she  was  frantic,  she  was 
mad.  The  terrible  strain  had  been  more  than 
she  could  bear.  She  became  a  maniac,  and  in 
her  ravings  she  would  call  for  Estelle  to  come 
back  to  her.  She  would  talk  of  nothing  but 
Estelle.  Amanda  Ramon  had  destroyed  her 
own  life  and  the  life  of  her  child. 

Where  is  William  Scott,  the  child  playmate, 
the  youthful  lover  of  Estelle,  the  one  who 
promised  to  defend  her? 

William  Scott  had  believed  that  the  "artist" 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  93 

was  a  scoundrel  the  first  time  he  laid  eyes  on 
him.  No  sooner  had  suspicions  of  foul  play 
been  aroused  in  the  neighborhood  than  young 
Scott  took  the  train  for  Cincinnati.  There  he 
employed  a  detective  to  aid  him  in  his  search 
for  Estelle.  After  one  week  of  close  search  in 
every  part  of  the  city,  the  place  was  found 
where  the  "artist"  and  Estelle  boarded  during 
their  two  weeks'  stay  in  Cincinnati.  Where 
they  went  could  not  be  learned  from  any 
source,  so  well  had  the  "artist"  covered  up  his 
tracks.  He  advertised  for  her  in  the  newspa- 
pers and  secured  the  services  of  detectives  in 
several  cities.  He  concluded  after  a  search  of 
two  months  that  she  had  been  killed  or  taken  to 
New  York  City,  and  perhaps  across  the  ocean 
to  some  foreign  country.  His  money  was  by 
this  time  all  gone.  He  wrote  home  to  his 
father  and  told  him  to  see  his  friends  and  the 
friends  of  Estelle  and  send  him  money  with 
which  to  continue  the  search,  for  he  intended 
to  find  her,  if  alive.  The  money  was  raised 
immediately  and  sent  to  William  Scott.  He 
next  went  to  New  York,  where  he  spent  day 
after  day  and  night  after  night  in  searching 
for  the  lost  girl,  but  with  a  sad  heart  he  had  to 
give  it  up,  for  not  the  remotest  clew  could  he 
get.  He  resolved  to  go  back  to  Cincinnati  and 
see  if  he  could  find  out  anything  more  about 
her  in  the  neighborhood  where  she  spent  the 
two  weeks.  He  learned  nothing  new  and  had 
almost  lost  all  hope.  One  night  while  sitting 
in  the  lobby  of  a  hotel  he  overheard  a  conver- 


94  WAR  ON  THE 

sation  between  two  gamblers.  One  of  them 
was  telling  the  other  about  being  in  Cleveland 
and  at  a  certain  place  where  he  met  the  most 
beautiful  girl  that  he  ever  saw.  He  went  on 
to  describe  her  to  the  other  gambler,  and 
wound  up  by  telling  him  that  she  fought  like 
a  tiger,  and  showed  him  the  scratches  which 
he  said  this  girl  had  made  on  his  face  with  her 
finger  nails.  The  description  given  by  one  of 
these  gamblers  to  the  other  was  that  of  Estelle. 
William  Scott  later  said  that  he  could  hardly 
keep  from  killing  this  man  then  and  there  in 
the  hotel.  Young  Scott  took  the  first  train  for 
Cleveland,  not  daring  to  seek  further  informa- 
tion from  the  gambler.  He  was  fully  convinced 
that  Estelle  was  in  a  house  of  ill-fame  in  that 
city.  By  this  time  he  had  learned  that  it  would 
not  do  him  any  good  to  tell  his  troubles  to  the 
police,  for  some  of  them  would  be  more  likely 
to  help  the  madam  secrete  the  girl  than  to  help 
him  get  her  away.  On  reaching  Cleveland,  he 
determined  to  tell  no  one  of  his  mission  or  why 
he  was  there.  He  determined  to  form  his  own 
plans  and  carry  them  out.  He  felt  sure  that  he 
and  Estelle  were  now  in  the  same  city  and  the 
thought  almost  made  him  wild.  He  knew  that 
if  she  was  in  a  house  of  ill-fame  she  was  there 
against  her  will  and  was  forced  to  remain  there. 
He  determined  to  visit  every  house  of  prostitu- 
tion in  the  city  or  find  her. 

The  third  night  of  his  rounds  he  visited  one 
of  these  houses  and  was  admitted  into  the  par- 
lor!   The  madam  came  in  and  asked  him  if  he 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  95 

wished  to  see  some  of  the  girls.  He  told  her 
that  he  would  not  object  if  she  had  one  real 
pretty.  She  told  him  that  the  girls  were  all 
out  now  except  one  she  called  the  "fighting 
girl  from  the  country."  He  told  her  that  he 
didn't  guess  that  she  was  much  of  a  fighter 
and  that  he  didn't  mind  her  fighting.  He  could 
hardly  control  his  feelings.  He  paid  the  mad- 
am $5  and  went  upstairs.  "What  if  she  screams 
when  she  sees  me  and  gives  the  whole  thing 
away?"  thought  young  Scott  to  himself.  He 
felt  sure  that  she  was  Estelle,  and  that  he  was 
going  to  meet  her  now.  The  door  was  un- 
locked, and  he  entered.  She  had  dozed  off  into 
a  sleep.  He  locked  the  door  and  waited  till 
the  hall  was  clear  before  waking  her.  He 
turned  on  the  light,  looked  into  her  face.  She 
was  Estelle!  He  pulled  two  revolvers  out  of 
his  pockets  and  laid  them  where  they  would 
be  handy,  for  he  had  resolved  to  take  her  out 
of  this  place  this  night  or  die  in  the  attempt. 
The  light  shone  on  her  face  and  showed  him 
how  pale  and  troubled  she  looked.  He  could 
see  the  great  sorrows  of  her  soul  written  in  her 
face  as  she  lay  there  sleeping.  He  bent  over 
her,  touched  her  face  and  whispered,  "It  is 
William  Scott,  from  Mill  Springs,  Kentucky, 
who  has  come  to  take  you  home.  For  your 
life,  don't  make  any  noise."  She  opened  her 
eyes  and  saw  him  and  knew  him  and  fainted 
away  from  joy.  He  bathed  her  face  and  soon 
returning  consciousness  came  to  her.  She  real- 
ized at  once  how  necessary  it  was  for  her  to 


86  WAR  ON  THE 

keep  quiet.  They  held  a  whispered  conversa- 
tion as  to  how  to  escape.  He  did  not  want  to 
?*aise  any  scene,  for  this  might  lead  to  his  ar- 
rest and  defeat  all  his  plans  of  getting  away. 
He  determined  to  steal  her  out  of  the  house 
quietly  and  get  away.  He  opened  the  door  to 
see  if  there  was  any  one  in  the  hallj  as  there 
was  no  chance  to  escape  through  a  window 
from  the  room.  He  went  out  in  the  hall  and 
carefully  locked  the  door  behind  him  so  as  to 
make  no  noise.  He  then  went  to  a  window  at 
the  far  end  of  the  hall;  it  was  open.  He  went 
back  to  the  room  and  tied  some  bed  covers  and 
sheets  together  and  they  went  out  again,  lock- 
ed the  door  as  before,  went  to  this  window  and 
tied  one  end  of  the  sheet  and  covers  to  a 
radiator  and  threw  them  out.  Estelle  went 
down  and  he  followed.  In  the  alley  where  they 
landed  it  was  dark  and  they  were  soon  out  of 
sight  of  this  building.  He  told  her  that  he 
was  afraid  to  take  her  to  the  depot  in  the  city, 
so  they  walked  on  in  the  darkness  till  they 
came  to  the  ralroad.  They  took  down  this  road 
and  walked  till  they  reached  the  next  station, 
some  miles  away,  reaching  it  just  a  few  min- 
utes before  the  southbound  train  came  along. 
Here  they  took  the  train  for  Cincinnati  and  for 
home.  Who  could  tell  of  the  joy  which  Estelle 
now  felt  on  being  rescued  from  her  prison 
house,  from  the  worst  slavery  ever  known  to 
the  world?  .At  Cincinnati  William  Scott  and 
Estelle  took  the  train  for  Somerset  and  soon 
reached  home.    Great  joys   oftentimes   have 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  97 

great  sorrows,  and  such  awaited  Estelle.  Will- 
iam had  not  told  her  about  her  mother  on  the 
trip  home.  He  knew  that  she  would  learn  it 
soon  enough.  Mrs.  Ramon's  people  thought, 
perhaps,  if  Estelle  could  be  found,  that  she 
might  come  to  her  right  mind,  but  such  was 
not  to  be.  Soon  after  the  marriage  of  Estelle 
and  William  ScoU  Mrs,  Ramon  died  in  an  in- 
sane asylum. 


98  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  VII. 
OUR  SISTER  OF  THE  STREET. 

By  Miss  Florence  Mabel  Dedrick. 

Note — Miss  Dedrick  is  rescue  missionary 
for  the  Moody  Church,  Chicago.  She  is  devot- 
ing her  life  to  the  visitation  and  rescue  of  sinful 
women  in  Chicago.  She  is  heart  and  soul  in 
the  work  and  has  been  wonderfully  blessed  in 
her  efforts. 

When  asked  to  write  for  you,  giving  some 
of  the  experiences  in  the  work  of  rescue  of 
our  sisters  of  the  street,  and  those  who  are 
victims  of  the  white  slave  traffic,  I  was  more 
than  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  sharing  this 
burden  which  God  has  laid  so  heavily  on  my 
heart.  I  will  treat  of  conditions  as  I  have  found 
them  in  the  underworld  of  Chicago. 

What  are  we  doing  for  our  tempted  sisters? 

Are  we  going  to  let  the  white  slave  traffic 
have  free  and  undisputed  sway  without  a  word 
of  protest,  blighting  and  ruining  the  homes  in 
this  fair  land  of  liberty  and  freedom?  Are  we 
in  Illinois,  the  State  that  sent  Abraham  Lin- 
coln forth  as  leader  in  the  conflict  for  freedom 
of  the  slaves  of  the  south,  going  to  let  an  evil, 
worse,  yea,  far  worse  than  that  ever  was,  or 
could  be,  exist  and  triumph,  and  not  rise  up  in 
arms  against  it? 


HON.  HARET  A.  PARKIN 


JAMES  BBONSON  REYNOLDS 

Special  investigator  for  President  Eoosevelt  and  for  the  *  *  White 
Slave"  grand  jury  in  New  York,  of  which  John 
D.  Eockefeller,  Jr.,  was  foreman 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  99 

The  question,  what  are  we  doing  for  our 
sisters  came  up  as  far  back  as  Solomon's  time, 
but  has  an  answer  been  found?  No!  It  was 
only  when  Jesus  met  the  woman  at  the  well 
did  a  new  life  open  up  for  our  unfortunate  sis- 
ters. I  plead  with  you  do  not  draw  away  your 
skirts  for  fear  of  contamination.  Remember, 
the  Master  Himself  allowed  a  fallen  woman  to 
wash  His  feet  with  her  tears  and  wipe  them 
with  the  hairs  of  her  head.  It  was  a  fallen 
woman  who  was  first  to  see  the  omissions  and 
deficiencies  of  hospitality  forgotten  by  others. 
Are  not  fallen  women  included  within  the  scope 
of  the  Master's  great  commission? 

Jesus  said,  another  time,  "Neither  do  I  con- 
demn thee,  go  and  sin  no  more." 

A  woman  may  fall  lower  than  a  man,  but  this 
is  due  to  her  sensitive  moral  nature.  With  the 
conviction  that  she  is  past  redemption,  doors 
closed,  no  one  loving  her,  people,  yes,  her  own 
sex,  ostracizing  her — she  becomes  hopeless, 
desperate,  reckless.  Can  you  blame  her?  Again, 
let  me  recall  to  your  mind,  Jesus  Himself  for- 
gave and  renewed  repetant  ones.  Even  when  a 
woman  had  fallen  to  the  depths  of  sin  and  deg- 
radation He  still  called  her  "woman." 

Not  every  girl  who  leads  a  life  of  sin  and 
shame  is  by  any  means  a  white  slave  in  the  full 
sense  of  the  word,  as  the  white  slave  traffic  ex- 
ists, though  truly  a  slave  she  is,  for  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons  and  the  same  judgment 
will  be  hers  unless  she  hastens  home  to  Father's 

House,  where  room  and  to  spare  and  warm  wel- 

7 


atoo  WAR  ON  THE 

come  awaits  her.  Not  many  open  doors  await 
her  in  this  world. 

An  example  of  this  is  found  in  the  case  of 
a  young  girl  in  Mississippi  who,  ruined,  went 
from  door  to  door  to  find  someone  who  would 
befriend  her.  Some  have  one  excuse,  some  an- 
other. All  said:  "We  cannot  take  you  in." 
Tired,  discouraged,  only  one  door  open,  and 
that  the  brothel,  to  which  she  went. 

It  is  said  in  one  city  of  half  a  million  people, 
as  reported  through  the  press,  they  determined 
to  expel  1,500  fallen  girls  from  the  city,  without 
offering  them  a  place  to  go.  When  brought  be- 
fore the  authorities,  between  sobs  and  tears, 
these  girls  said :  "Where  can  we  go,  no  homes, 
money,  nor  friends?"  The  reply  was:  "I  can- 
not tell  you,  but  you  must  leave  here." 

Many  ask:  "Who  are  these  girls  who  go 
astray?" — ^having  an  idea  that  it  is  only  the 
ignorant  class  who  are  down  in  sin.  It  is  not 
so,  and  let  me  undeceive  everyone  on  this  point, 
though  many,  many  of  the  ignorant  class  do  go 
astray  also.  Satan  is  claiming  our  best,  our 
VERY  best  girls  of  education,  refinement,  ad- 
vantages and  religious  training.  In  one  of  the 
most  notorious  and  elegant  resorts,  known  as 

the in  the  red  light  district 

of  Chicago,  there  are  college  girls,  who  have 
had  every  advantage.  Only  lately,  as  I  have 
done  personal  work  there,  did  I  learn  that  these 
very  girls  were  at  times  in  such  despair  as  to 
threaten  to  commit  suicide. 

Within  a  few  blocks  of  Moody  Church  was  a 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  loi 

girl,  an  elocutionist,  a  musician,  a  sweet,  stately 
girl  of  refinement,  whose  home  has  been  in  a 
house  of  shame  for  the  last  five  or  six  years. 

Some  girls  come  to  me  when  in  these  resorts 
and  say:  "I  used  to  sing  in  Moody  Church 
Choir/*  Others  will  tell  you  they  went  through 
every  department  of  the  Sunday  school,  some 
were  Sunday  school  teachers.  Members  of  al* 
most  every  Church  you  will  find  among  them. 
When  these  facts  are  considered  one  cannot 
help  but  realize  the  need  for  action.  Satan  has 
entered  our  churches,  as  well  as  every  other 
place.  It  is  only  recently  that  our  churches 
have  opened  to  workers  to  even  speak  on  this 
subject,  but  thank  God,  they  are  gladly  begin- 
ning to  do  so,  since  they  see  danger  staring 
them  in  the  face.  The  time  for  prudishness, 
false  modesty,  indelicacy  is  over;  too  long  has 
Satan  been  aided  in  his  onward  march  in  this 
way. 

A  sad  incident  occurred  in  one  of  our  West 
Side  churches.  Seven  or  eight  boys,  whom  ev- 
eryone considered  pure,  were  found,  upon  in* 
vestigation,  to  have  caused  the  ruin  of  thirteen 
girls.  One  girl,  in  telling  me  how  she  had  been 
led  astray  said  she  had  only  been  getting  $3.50 
a  week.  Seeing  an  advertisement  for  experi- 
enced workers  at  $5.00,  she  answered  it.  For 
two  weeks  they  kept  it  from  her  that  she  was 
in  a  house  of  shame. 

A  problem  that  must  be  met  is  che  preser- 
vation of  our  American  homes.  Let  me  quote 
from  Mr.  Moody:    "Intemperance  comes  as  $ 


102  WAR  ON  THE 

blight  upon  one  family  in  seven,  but  the  evil  jyl 
impurity  threatens  seven  times  as  many  fami- 
lies, that  is  all  of  them."  There  are  hundreds 
of  towns  and  villages  where  it  is  impossible  to 
get  a  drink  of  liquor  of  any  kind,  while  on  the 
other  hand  there  is  not  a  single  town,  hamlet 
or  community  of  any  size  where  the  evil  of  im- 
purity does  not  exist  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree. 

There  must  be  co-operation  on  the  part  of 
the  state,  the  hom.e  and  the  church.  What 
we  need  is  a  practical  salvation,  something 
more  than  saying :  "Be  ye  saved."  The  church 
can  do  what  the  state  cannot,  and  vice  versa. 
Not  only  present,  but  future  generations  are 
in  danger.  Vice  and  crime  are  being  flaunted, 
as  it  were,  and  advertised  in  our  very  faces. 
Every  man,  woman  and  child  has  a  place  in 
the  battle. 

It  is  girls  whose  ages  are  from  13  to  22  who 
are  going  astray,  even  as  young  as  9  years;  de- 
ceived, betrayed,  led  away,  through  wiles  of 
abominable  men,  whose  business  is  to  traffic  in 
girls.  Since  living  in  Chicago,  many  girls  I  have 
known  gave  birth  to  little  ones  at  the  ages  of 
13,  14  and  15. 

Let  me  give  some  figures:  During  the 
month  of  May  alone  in  the  two  syphilitic  wards 
in  Cook  County  Hospital,  140  men  and  32  wom- 
en passed  through.  In  Twenty-second  Street 
Red  Light  district,  by  police  enumeration  a 
few  months  ago,  there  were  1,100  girls  living 
lives  of  prostitution,  farther  South,  1,200,  mak- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  103 

ing  a  total  of  2,300.  This  is  appalling,  and  yet 
this  does  not  take  in  the  whole  city. 

As  many  of  you  know,  as  far  as  can  be 
learned,  the  average  buying  price  of  a  girl  is 
$15.00.  She  may  be  sold  for  $200.00.  If  spe- 
cially attractive,  anywhere  from  $400.00  to 
$600.00. 

The  conscience  of  these  girls  is  by  no  means 
dead.  Upon  giving  one  my  card  in  the  hos- 
pital, she  said :  "If  I  had  only  known  it  before ; 
many  tell  me  about  being  a  Christian,  and  an- 
other world,  but  I  never  could  understand  it." 

The  cry  of  another  sinsick  girl  was,  amid 
sobs  and  tears:  "Oh!  it  is  awful  and  sin  has 
done  it." 

Oh,  Christian  women,  mothers,  give  recogni- 
tion to  the  fact;  yes,  welcome  it,  that  a  fallen 
woman  can  be  saved,  and  extend  to  her  sym- 
pathy, encouragement  and  love! 

These  girls  are  reached,  not  only  through 
resorts,  but  in  our  city  prisons,  police  stations, 
courts,  hospitals,  and  elsewhere.  The  rescue 
homes  are  doing  a  noble  work,  especially  Beu- 
lah  Home,  Salvation  Army  Home  and  others. 
The  Girls'  Refuge,  where  the  Juvenile  Court 
cases  are  taken,  has  girls  of  all  ages  up  to  18 
and  19 — at  present  140  girls  are  there  under 
Christian  influence. 

The  superintendent  of  a  rescue  home  recent- 
ly asked  200  girls  who  were  there  how  many 
had  been  warned  as  to  temptation  and  danger 
by  their  mothers — ^not  one  had,  only  in  a  few 
instances  had  they  been  told  to  be  good  while 


104  WAR  ON  THE 

they  were  gone.  Another  sad  fact,  and,  oh, 
how  hard  to  admit,  is  that  a  girl  receives  the 
most  discouragement  from  her  own  sex,  and 
with  this  censure  and  criticism,  is  it  any  won- 
der our  sisters  do  not  have  any  drawing  to- 
ward Christianity? 

One  word  of  warning  to  Christian  workers. 
Many  take  money  from  these  resorts,  going 
in  with  the  sole  object  of  getting  money,  by 
selling  papers,  or  taking  money  when  offered 
them. 

One  night,  as  I  started  to  talk  to  a  girl,  she 
offered  me  money,  and,  as  I  refused,  she  seemed 
quite  surprised.  I  told  her  I  was  not  doing  the 
work  for  money,  I  was  interested  in  her  souFs 
welfare  only.  She  said:  "How  is  it  some  of 
you  Christians  come  in  here  and  take  our  taint- 
ed money?"  Oh,  workers,  remember  the  Gos- 
pel is  without  money  and  without  price!  Do 
not  forget  these  girls,  down  as  they  are  in  sin, 
they  are  watching  OUR  lives,  and  it  is  this  that 
counts  for  most. 

Especially  let  me  say:  "The  girls  of  today 
are  the  mothers  of  the  morrow,  and  as  in  the 
life  and  influence  of  mother  rests  the  making  of 
men  and  nations,  let  us,  with  God's  help,  save 
the  girls."  Knowing  the  price  of  a  single  soul, 
the  burden  of  my  heart  is,  that  the  minds  of 
our  American  people  may  be  so  stirred  and 
awakened  to  the  existing  causes  of  evils  that 
are  engulfing  our  girls,  that  we  will  each 
take  our  part,  appoint  ourselves  as  a  committee 
of  one,  to  do  all  we  can  to  stamp  out  this  mon- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  105 

strous  soul  scourge,  and  hinder  and  stop  its  fur- 
ther progress. 

WHAT  ARE  THE  DANGERS  OF  CITY 
LIFE  FOR  A  COUNTRY  GIRL? 

After  an  experience  in  rescue  missionary 
work  for  women  and  girls,  not  only  in  this  city 
but  in  New  York  City  and  Boston,  there  is  one 
conclusion  which  I  am  forced  to  come  to  and 
more  and  more  is  becoming  an  undeniable  fact. 

It  is  this,  that  our  country  girls  are  in  more 
danger  from  white  slave  traders  than  city  girls. 
Were  I  alone  in  making  this  statement,  I 
should  not  hesitate  for  one  moment  in  what 
I  have  to  say,  but  others  agree  with  me  in  this, 
among  them  being  United  States  District  At- 
torney Sims,  who  has  written  much  on  the  sub- 
ject of  white  slavery.  One  reason  for  reaching 
this  conclusion  comes  from  the  personal  hand- 
to-hand  and  heart-to-heart  touch  with  these 
girls  themselves.  The  country  girl  is  more 
open  to  the  enticements  of  city  life,  being  more 
truthful,  perfectly  innocent  and  unsuspecting 
of  those  whose  business  it  is  to  seek  their  prey 
from  girls  of  this  class. 

A  girl  reared  in  the  country  is  not  taught  to 
suspect  everyone  she  meets,  unless  a  rare  oc- 
currence presents  itself,  and  when  involuntar- 
ily the  defense  instinct  asserts  itself.  While,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  city  girl  has  had  it  drilled 
into  her,  as  it  were,  from  the  time  she  could 
walk,  that  she  must  regard  people  with  dis- 
trust, not  speaking  to  strangers  an3rwhere,  ac- 


io6  WAR  ON  THE 

cepting  nothing  from  anyone,  her  own  people 
being  the  only  ones  she  should  make  confi- 
dants of. 

Mr.  Sims  says:  "There  is  a  definite  but  un- 
defined danger  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  the 
city  for  the  girl  or  young  woman,  which  de- 
mands a  constant  and  protective  alertness, 
while  on  the  other  hand,  life  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts is  comparatively  free  and  unrestrained." 
Again  he  states,  and  through  his  investigation 
of  the  white  slave  traffic  has  reached  the  con- 
clusion, that  the  best  and  the  surest  way  for 
parents  of  girls  in  the  country  to  protect  them 
from  the  clutches  of  the  white  slaver  is  to  keep 
them  in  the  country. 

While  this  may  be  the  safest,  surest,  easiest 
course  to  take,  it  would  not  be  advisable  in  all 
cases,  for  many  girls  have  an  ambition  and  aim 
in  life,  which  they  are  seeking  to  attain,  and  the 
city  offers  advantages  for  this  development 
which  the  country  does  not,  and  we  should  not 
seek  to  put  obstacles  in  her  way,  but  to  protect 
her  in  carrying  out  her  purpose  in  life. 

But  if  circumstances  should  seem  to  compel 
a  change  from  country  to  city,  the  only  safe 
way  is  for  parents  to  accompany  their  girls  and 
see  them  settled,  though  this  would  have  its 
disadvantages,  as  many  parents  are  just  as  ig- 
norant as  their  children  regarding  the  perils 
of  city  life. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  107 

A  TIMELY  WARNING. 

Parents  who  do  not  believe  in  the  warnings 
given  on  these  lines  but  say,  as  many  do, 
"Wait,  time  enough  when  they  are  older,  then 
let  them  find  out  for  themselves ;  experience  is 
the  best  teacher,"  should  remember  this:  Ig- 
norance is  not  innocence,  and  it  is  but  the  pref- 
ace to  the  book  of  vice.  To  parents  is  given 
the  first  and  greatest  opportunity  of  fortifying 
their  children  with  the  true  armor  of  knowl- 
edge and  purity. 

More  than  one  girl  with  whom  I  have  talked 
in  resorts  in  the  Red  Light  district,  when  ques- 
tioned as  to  how  they  came  there,  would  say, 
"Oh,  mother  thinks  I  am  working,  a  good  posi- 
tion." I  have  said,  "Does  she  not  ask  you?" 
"Oh,  no,  mother  never  questions  me  much," 
and  in  many  cases  they  would  say,  "I  send 
money  home  and" — think  of  it — "that  has  sat- 
isfied mother." 

WHAT  IS  HER  MOTIVE  FOR  CITY 
LIFE? 

There  comes  a  time  in  nearly  every  girl's 
life  when  her  cry  is  to  go  to  the  city,  and  I 
think  I  can  speak  from  personal  experience 
here.  It  may  be  necessary  through  force  of 
circumstances,  or  to  develop  herself  along  the 
line  of  her  cherished  ambition,  or  a  thirst  for 
knowledge.  If  it  is  to  satisfy  the  desire  for  mere 
personal  happiness  and  enjoyment  and  craving 
for  excitement,  I  say,  "Beware!"  for  here  it  is 
many  slip  and  are  lost. 


108  WAR  ON  THE 

She  sees  no  danger,  even  though  some  warn- 
ings may  be  given,  it  is  hard  for  her  to  realize 
that  she,  herself,  will  be  in  danger,  she  will  tell 
you  that  she  is  able  to  take  care  of  herself,  for- 
getting her  surroundings  will  be  vastly  dif- 
ferent. She  finally  sees  the  danger  when,  alas, 
too  late.  I  found  an  instance  of  this  in  a  resort 
where  a  dear  girl  said  one  night,  "we  are  the 
fools.  It's  a  broad  door  to  come  in  but  so  nar- 
row to  get  out  of  here." 

A  HIDDEN  DANGER. 

The  danger  begins  the  moment  a  girl  leaves 
the  protection  of  Home  and  Mother.  One  of 
these  dangers,  and  one  that  seems  to  be  well 
nigh  impossible  for  parents  to  realize,  is  the 
fact  that  there  are  watchers  or  agents,  who 
may  be  either  men  or  women,  at  our  steamboat 
landings,  railroad  stations,  ever3rwhere,  who 
seek  attractive  girls  evidently  unused  to  city 
ways,  try  to  make  their  acquaintance,  using 
inducements  and  deception  of  every  conceiv- 
able kind,  offers  of  helpfulness,  showing  her 
every  kindness. 

I  remember  so  well  one  dear  girl  whom  I 
found  in  Cook  County  Hospital,  brought  there 
from  a  brothel,  sold,  led  away,  deceived,  from 
another  town,  on  the  promise  of  work,  who 
said  to  me,  "Every  one  in  Chicago  deceives 
you.  No  one  told  me  the  truth  until  I  met  you. 
You  are  the  first  real  friend  I  could  trust." 

Girls  are  offered  refreshments,  either  to  eat 
or  drink.    Many  are  secured  in  this  way  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  109 

the  girl  has  realized  when  too  late,  her  refresh- 
ing drink  was  drugged,  and  she  is  a  victim,  a 
prisoner,  and  her  life  ruined. 

HUNGRY  FOR  A  LITTLE  COMPANION- 
SHIP. 

After  coming  to  the  city,  homesickness  may 
overtake  a  girl  and  even  if  in  some  cases  warn- 
ings have  been  given,  she  may  forget,  throw 
off  restraint  and  pour  out  her  heart  freely  to 
those  of  whom  she  knows  nothing,  but  in  this 
unguarded  moment  the  mischief  is  done. 

One  little  realizes  the  longing  in  a  girl's 
heart,  who  is  alone  in  a  big  city.  The  following 
incident  brings  out  this  point: 

In  a  brothel  one  night  I  was  talking  with  a 
girl  who  was  playing  with  a  little  pet  dog.  As 
I  continued  to  talk  to  her,  all  at  once  she  said 
looking  into  the  dog's  face,  then  into  mine, 
"This  is  the  only  friend  I  have  and  if  I  feel  blue 
and  discouraged,  he  will  climb  into  my  lap  and 
try  to  comfort  me." 

Another  danger  still,  and  a  serious  one,  is  our 
lodging  houses  of  today,  many  of  which  are 
houses  of  shame,  hidden  from  public  eye.  Let 
a  girl  just  coming  to  the  city  beware  of  these 
for  in  many,  many  instances,  I  am  very  sure, 
it  is  just  such  an  existence,  no  home  life.  Com- 
ing  in  tired,  lonely,  no  one  cares  about  you,  you 
may  live  or  die  and  few  would  know  it,  so  to 
speak,  unless  you  were  in  a  Christian  home, 
which  are  only  too  scarce  in  the  lodging  house 
business,  though  thank  God  for  some.    Unpro- 


no  WAR  ON  THE 

tected  she  is  here,  not  knowing  who  lives  in 
the  next  room  to  her. 

Boarding  or  rooming  rather  in  one  place, 
taking  meals  in  another,  is  a  great  danger  and 
one  which  her  mother  should  guard  against. 
Boarding  houses  are  not  much  of  an  improve- 
ment, though  in  many  cases  a  little  more  home 
life. 

Another  evil  and  serious  danger,  and  only 
another  of  Satan's  waiting  rooms,  is  the  enter- 
taining of  gentlemen  friends  in  her  room — 
true,  this  little  room  is  the  only  place  she  has — 
and  here  is  one  of  the  birthplaces  to  immoral- 
ity and  temptation  constantly  before  her.  Much 
danger  might  be  avoided  if  every  lodging  house 
had  a  parlor  where  a  girl  could  have  some  home 
life  and  entertain  her  friends  occasionally. 

Oh,  may  the  parents  who  read  this,  make 
sure  your  child  has  Christian  influence  and  sur- 
roundings. It  may  cost  you  extra  money  to 
do  it,  but  better  far  to  cost  you  something  than 
to  have  her  life  blasted  and  ruined. 

DANGEROUS  AMUSEMENTS. 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation,  I  would  say 
after  much  investigation,  one  curse  of  our  land 
today  is  five-cent  theaters.  Many  nights  have 
I  worked  outside  of  these,  and  investigated  in- 
side, and  have  seen  these  pictures  not  possible 
to  describe  in  words,  and  have  seen  children 
mere  babies,  of  every  age,  flocking  in  and  out 
of  these  theaters,  many  of  them  with  older  peo- 
ple or  guardians  with   them,   many   entirely 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  iii 

alone.  More  harm  is  done  here  in  one  night 
than  could  be  undone  in  years. 

Ice  cream  parlors  of  the  city  and  fruit  stores, 
in  many  cases  combined,  largely  run  by  for- 
eigners, are  where  scores  of  girls  have  taken 
their  first  step  downward.  Mr.  Sims  states 
that  he  believes  the  ice  cream  parlor  even  in 
the  large  country  town  is  often  a  recruiting 
station  and  feeder  for  the  white  slave  traffic. 

Do  not  get  the  idea  that  we  mean  that  all 
of  these  are  connected  with  white  slavery,  but 
some  of  them  are  and  wise  parents  should  be 
careful  on  these  points. 

There  are  restaurants  selling  wines  and 
liquors  where  many  young  girls  go  as  waitress- 
es, which  hold  dangers  for  any  girl. 

Also,  let  me  say  here  a  word  in  warning. 
Look  out  for  the  signs  Satan  is  putting  up  all 
over  our  cities  like  this:  "Ladies  Entrance," 
"Family  Entrance,"  which  has  been  the  "en- 
trance" of  many  a  precious  girl  to  a  life  of  sin. 

The  amusement  parks  are  now  becoming  a 
serious  menace  to  our  young  people.  Shut  up 
in  a  small  room,  hot  and  stifling,  a  girl  gladly 
accepts  the  chance  for  an  outing.  All  over 
these  places  Satan  has  his  agents  stationed, 
seeking  victims. 

Advertisements  are  another  temptation  in 
store  for  the  country  girl.  It  is  in  these  days 
the  devil's  own  invention,  such  alluring,  at- 
tractive offers. 

One  girl  told  me  she  owed  it  to  this  that  she 
was  a  "white  slave."    She  said  she  saw  an  ad- 


112  WAR  ON  THE 

vertisement  in  the  paper  for  experienced  serv- 
ants for  $5.00  per  week.  She  was  only  getting 
$3.50. 

She  went  and  found  out  to  her  sorrow  after 
a  few  days  that  she  was  a  prisoner  in  a  house 
of  shame. 

A  life  full  of  subtle  and  fierce  temptation  is 
the  life  of  a  stenographer  and  oh,  how  many 
here  are  led  astray  by  those  who  should  protect 
them.  One  will  say,  "What  is  a  girl  to  do? 
From  all  you  have  said,  she  would  not  dare  to 
go  anywhere." 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  allurements  of 
city  life  to  many  a  young  girl  is  the  dance-hall, 
which  is  truly  the  ante-room  to  hell  itself.  Here 
indeed,  is  the  beginning  of  the  white  slave  traf- 
fic in  many  instances.  A  girl  may  in  her  coun- 
try home  have  danced  a  little,  but  here,  *mid 
the  blazing  lights,  gaiety  and  so-called  happi- 
ness, she  enters.  She  is  told  she  is  awkward 
and  will  become  more  graceful,  no  harm  in  it. 
You  know  the  rest. 

Had  I  a  daughter  or  a  sister,  one  of  the 
places  I  would  warn  her  against  when  going  to 
the  city  would  be  some  of  our  large  department 
stores,  not  all,  thank  God,  but  alas,  too  many 
of  them. 

Many  girls  have  a  great  desire  and  ambition 
to  work  in  a  store  in  the  city.  Unless  it  were 
a  positive,  absolute  necessity,  I  would  never 
allow  her  to  do  it,  unless  I  knew  beyond  a 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  she  possessed  great 
strength  of  character.    I  hesitated  in  writing 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  113 

this  but  I  felt  I  must  or  God  would,  indeed,  hold 
me  responsible,  for  parents  have  no  idea  of  th© 
girls  who  are  ruined  behind  counters. 

When  told  the  small  salaries  they  will  re- 
ceive and  a  girl  says,  "Oh,  I  cannot  live  on 
that,"  the  answer  is,  "We  will  see  to  that,  we 
will  provide  another  way  for  your  support," 
and  there  is  begun  the  downward  career. 

Fathers,  mothers,  did  you  ever  stop  and  ask 
yourselves,  how  can  these  girls  dress  them- 
selves the  way  they  are  required  to  nowadays 
in  these  stores  and  do  it  honorably  on  the  sal- 
ary that  many  of  them  receive?  It  will  bear  in- 
vestigation. 

A  serious  cause  for  the  downfall  of  many 
girls  is  the  small  wages  which  so-called  Chris- 
tians are  paying,  which  is  barely  enough  for 
mere  exstence. 

One  father,  not  long  ago,  after  some  striking 
warnings,  wrote  saying  he  had  been  aroused 
to  inquire  after  his  little  girl,  her  letters  had 
been  more  and  more  infrequent,  he  was  a  trifle 
anxious,  and  wished  her  address  looked  up. 

At  a  glance  it  was  known  at  once  where  the 
girl  was,  the  location  being  the  center  of  Chi-» 
cago's  Red  Light  district. 

When  rescued,  it  was  a  girl  with  a  blighted, 
pitifully  wasted  life,  a  sad  return,  indeed,  to  the 
old  home.  Once  a  pretty,  pure,  innocent  girl. 
I  find  a  majority  of  girls  gone  astray  are  from 
the  country  towns,  villages  and  hamlets.  There 
IS  need  for  the  small  communities  to  awake. 

It  is  through  the  lack  of  education  of  the 


114  WAR  ON  THE 

fathers  and  mothers  along  these  lines,  particu- 
larly in  the  rural  districts,  that  Satan  has  been 
aided  in  his  onward  evil  march.  Some  one  has 
said,  "No  reform  will  ever  be  successful  till  peo- 
ple know  the  truth."  Until  then  there  will  be 
no  decrease  in  vice. 

The  closed  door  of  a  father's  home  is  the 
reason  why  many  go  deeper  down  in  sin.  A 
sad  mistake  here  many  parents  make,  refusing 
forgiveness,  when  your  child  may  have  made 
just  one  mistake.  Are  all  parents  following  the 
example  Jesus  Christ  set  before  us? 

There  is  a  point  in  a  g^irl's  downward  career, 
just  at  the  beginning,  that  she  may  be  rescued 
on  the  rebound,  as  it  were,  and  untold  suffering 
saved  her,  for  she  is  very  tender  at  this  time 
and  easily  influenced. 

An  instance  of  this  and  the  steps  by  which 
a  girl  travels  downward  is  found  in  that  of  a 
very  dear,  sweet  girl,  brought  up  in  a  Christian 
home,  whom  I  found  recently.  Trouble  at 
home  a  year  and  a  half  ago  and  she  left.  Her 
father  forgave  her  and  corresponded  with  her. 
The  mother  would  not.  She  worked  about  a 
year  with  a  prominent  firm,  then  in  a  depart- 
ment store.  Through  illness,  she  lost  her  po- 
sition. Tempted  in  different  ways,  going  to  a 
high  class  wine  room,  so-called,  then  on  the 
stage  as  a  chorus  girl.  She  did  not  enjoy  it; 
suffered  all  the  time.  Finally,  through  God's 
own  way,  lost  this  place.  Found  her  in  the  hos- 
pital, weak,  but  able  to  leave,  but  nowhere  to 
go  but  to  hotel  life.    I  took  her  to  friends  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  115 

a  happier  girl  you  would  seldom  find,  especial- 
ly to  receive  a  letter  from  mother  telling  her 
to  come  home.  She  could  scarcely  wait  and 
her  one  cry  was  "to  see  my  mother."  We  were 
able  to  have  her  return  to  her  home  in  one  of 
the  neighboring  states.  Rescued  just  at  the 
danger  point,  not  a  bad  girl,  but  naturally  in- 
nocent, unused  to  these  hard  experiences. 

Some  will  say,  "What  is  a  girl  to  do?  Must 
she  be  deprived  of  all  pleasure  ?  For  from  what 
you  have  said,  it  is  not  safe  for  a  girl  any- 
where." 

I  do  not  wish  to  hinder  any  girl  from  attain- 
ing her  desire  and  ambition,  or  having  pleas- 
ure, but  I  do  say  with  all  the  force  I  can  com- 
mand, that  all  these  things  spoken  of,  yes,  and 
many,  many  more,  are  all  serious  and  great 
dangers  which  when  a  girl  is  just  starting  out 
in  life,  ignorant  of  all  this,  if  unguarded 
against,  will  be  her  ruin. 

Discretion  and  wisdom  must  be  used,  and 
if  so,  there  are  plenty  of  places  where  a  girl 
can  find  amusement  which  is  pure,  holy,  ele- 
vating and  uplifting.  Most  of  the  danger  is 
hidden  and  our  object  is  to  bring  to  light  these 
secret  lurking  places  and  expose  them  to  the 
gaze  of  an  alarming  public.  Many  go  through 
safely  in  answer  to  mother's  prayers,  warnings, 
advice,  and  careful  watching  of  dear  ones,  thus 
being  firmly  established  in  character  and  mor- 
ality. If  one  seeks  to  walk  with  their  whole 
heart  "in  the  straight  and  narrow  way,"  these 
dangers  will  be  avoided. 


ii6  WAR  ON  THE 

ON  THE  STREET. 

On  the  street,  on  the  street. 
To  and  fro  with  weary  feet ; — 

Aching  heart  and  aching  head; 

Homeless,  lacking  daily  bread; 
Lost  to  friends,  and  joy,  and  name; 
Sold  to  sorrow,  sin,  and  shame; 

Wet  with  rain,  and  chilled  by  storm; 

Ruined,  wretched,  lone,  forlorn; — 
Weak  and  wan,  with  weary  feet, 
Still  I  wander  in  the  street. 

On  the  street,  on  the  street. 

Still  I  walk  with  weary  feet; 
Lonely  'mid  the  city's  din. 
Sunk  in  grief,  and  woe,  and  sin ; 

Far  from  peace,  and  far  from  home; 

No  one  caring  where  I  roam; 

No  kind  hand  stretched  forth  to  save^ 
No  bright  hope  beyond  the  grave; 

Feeble,  faint,  with  weary  feet, 

Still  I  wander,  "on  the  street." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  117 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

^OUE  ABOUT  THE  TRAFFIC  IN 
SHAME. 

By  Mrs.  Ophelia  Amigh,  Superintendent  of 
the  Illinois  Training  School  for  Girls. 

One  of  the  niost  disheartening  things  in  the 
work  of  protecting  innocent  girls  and  restoring 
tto  useful  lives  those  who  have  been  betrayed 
from  the  path  of  right  living  is  the  blind  incre- 
dulity of  a  very  large  part  of  the  public.  There 
gre  hundreds  of  thousands  of  women  in  the 
homes  of  this  country  who  know  as  little  of 
what  is  going  on  in  the  world,  so  far  as  the 
safety  of  their  daughters  is  concerned,  as  so 
many  children.  They  are  almost  marvelously 
ignorant  of  the  terrible  conditions  all  about 
them— -and  all  about  their  children,  too. 

Of  course,  their  blindness  to  these  awful 
^actualities  makes  them  more  comfortable,  for 
the  time  being,  than  they  could  possibly  be  if 
awake  to  the  perils  which  beset  the  feet  of  their 
daughters  and  the  daughters  of  their  friends 
and  neighbors.  But  there  is  no  permanency 
to  this  sort  of  peace — and  thousands  of  moth- 
ers of  this  class  are  annually  brought  to  their 
senses  and  recalled  to  earth  by  discovering 
that  their  own  daughters  have  made  the  fatal 
inisstep  and  have  passed  under  the  brand  of 


ii8  WAR  ON  THE 

■  >  ''  -h^_       ^    '-'^  ■'  '     ^  ^ 

the  pariahr^  The  awakening  of  such  parents 
comes  too  late,  generally,  to  do  much  good. 
Not  always,  but  in  a  majority  of  cases.  Many, 
many  times  after  I  have  related  to  a  casua/ 
woman  visitor  the  simple  details  of  a  typical 
"case"  brought  here  to  the  State  Home,  the 
caller  has  exclaimed:  "How  terrible!  I  didn't 
dream  that  such  things  were  going  on  in  the 
world!" 

Now,  if  you  had  something  of  great  value 
which  needed  to  be  protected  day  and  night, 
would  you  select  for  such  a  task  a  blind  watch- 
man? or  one  who  was  firmly  possessed  of  the 
idea  that  there  was  really  no  danger,  no  oc- 
casion for  watchfulness?  Certainly  not !  There 
is  nothing  in  the  world  of  such  priceless  value 
to  a  father  or  a  mother  as  the  honor,  the  purity, 
the  good  character  of  a  daughter.  No  parent 
will  possibly  question  this  statement.  And 
still  there  are  many  thousands  of  parents  en- 
trusted by  Providence  with  the  safe-keeping 
of  this  priceless  treasure  who  are  themselves 
in  the  position  of  discharging  that  great  re- 
sponsibility with  closed  eyes,  with  dull  ears 
and  with  a  childish  belief  that  there  is  no  real 
peril  threatening  the  safety  of  their  daugh- 
ters !  These  parents  do  not  live  on  earth,  their 
heads  are  in  the  clouds  and  their  ears  are  filled 
with  the  cry  of  "  Teace!  Peace!'  when  there  is 
no  peace." 

As  one  whose  daily  duty  it  is  to  deal  with 
wayward  and  fallen  girls,  as  one  who  has  had 
to  dig  down  into  the  sordid  and  revolting  de- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  iig 

tails  of  thousands  of  these  sad  cases  (for  I 
have  spent  the  best  part  of  my  life  in  this  line 
of  work)  let  me  say  to  such  mothers: 

In  this  day  and  age  of  the  world  no  young 
girl  is  safe!  And  all  young  girls  who  are 
not  surrounded  by  the  alert,  constant  and  in- 
telligent protection  of  those  who  love  them 
unselfishly  are  in  imminent  and  deadly  peril. 
And  the  more  beautiful  and  attractive  they 
are  the  greater  is  their  peril! 

The  first  and  most  vital  step  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  girls  who  walk  in  this  path  of 
pitfalls  is  to  arouse  the  sleeping  watchmen  who 
are,  by  reason  of  their  parenthood,  responsible 
for  the  safekeeping  of  their  daughters.  This 
is  why  the  "White  Slave"  articles  by  Hon.  Ed- 
win W.  Sims  and  others,  which  have  been  pub- 
lished in  the  Woman's  World,  have  done  great 
good.  They  have  stirred  to  a  sense  of  alarm 
thousands  of  parents  who  were  asleep  in 
a  false  sense  of  security.  If  they  accomplish 
nothing  beyond  this  they  will  fully  have  justi- 
fied their  publication. 

But  it  is  evident  that  they  will  also  result  in 
the  enactment  of  much  needed  legislation,  of 
laws  which  will  make  it  easier  to  convict  and 
punish  those  who  live  from  this  foul  traffic 
in  the  shame  of  girls  whose  natural  protectors 
are  asleep  in  this  false  sense  of  security.  Of 
course,  practically  every  state  has  some  laws 
against  that  traffic — but  I  do  not  know  of  any 
State  in  which  the  laws  now  on  the  statute 


120  WAR  ON  THE 

books  are  adequate  to  deal  with  the  situation 
as  it  should  be  dealt  with. 

One  of  the  things  which  comfortable  and 
trusting  parents  seem  to  find  especially  hard 
tb  believe  is  the  point  upon  which  both  United 
States  District  Attorney  Sims  and  his  assist- 
ant, Mr.  Parkin,  have  placed  so  much  stress — 
the  existence  of  an  active  and  systematic  traf- 
fic in  girls.  There  is  no  safety  for  the  daugh- 
ter of  any  parents  who  are  not  awake  and 
alive  to  the  actuality  of  this  fact! 

It  is  one  of  the  satisfactions  of  my  life  to  re- 
flect that  I  have  been  one  of  the  agents  in  send- 
ing a  dozen — perhaps  more — ^persons  to  the 
penitentiary  for  participating  in  this  traffic. 

The  dragnets  of  the  inhuman  men  and 
women  who  ply  this  terrible  trade  are  spread 
day  and  night  and  are  manipulated  with  a 
skill  and  precision  which  ought  to  strike  terror 
to  the  heart  of  every  careless  or  indifferent 
parent.  The  wonder  is  not  that  so  many  are 
caught  in  this  net,  but  that  they  escape!  I 
count  the  week — I  might  almost  say  the  day 
— a  happy  and  fortunate  one  which  does  not 
btirig  to  my  attention  as  an  officer  of  the  state 
a  deplorable  case  of  this  kind. 

Just  to  show  how  tightly  and  broadly  the 
nets  of  these  fishers  for  girls  are  spread,  let 
me  tell  of  an  instance  which  occurred  from  this 
institution: 

This  girl,  whom  I  will  call  Nellie,  is  a  very 
ordinary  looking  girl  and  below  the  average 
of  intelligence,  but  as  tractable  and  obedient 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  121 

as  she  is  ingenuous.  She  is  wholly  without 
the  charm  which  would  naturally  attract  the 
eye  of  the  white  slave  trader. 

Because  of  her  quietness,  her  obedience  and 
her  good  disposition,  she  was,  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  of  the  institution,  permitted  to 
go  into  the  family  of  a  substantial  farmer  out 
in  the  west  and  work  as  a  housemaid,  a  "hired 
girl" — ^her  wages  to  be  deposited  to  her  credit 
against  the  time  when  she  should  reach  the  age 
of  twenty-one  and  leave  the  Home. 

She  had  been  in  her  position  for  some  tinie 
and  was  so  quiet  and  satisfactory  that  one  Sun- 
day when  the  family  were  not  going  to  church 
the  mistress  said: 

"Nellie,  if  you  wish  to  go  to  church  alone 
you  may  jdo  so.  The  milk  wagon  will  be  along 
shortly  and  you  can  ride  on  that  to  the  vil- 
lage— and  here  is  seventy-five  cents.  You  may 
want  to  buy  your  dinner  and  perhaps  some 
candy." 

When  Nellie  reached  town  and  was  on  her 
way  past  the  railroad  station  to  the  church, 
the  train  for  Chicago  came  in,  and  the  impulse 
seized  her  to  get  aboard,  go  to  the  city  and 
look  up  her  father,  whom  she  had  not  seen  for 
several  months.  She  went  to  the  city  and  had 
hardly  stepped  from  the  train  into  the  big 
station  when  she  heard  a  man's  voice  saying: 
"Why,  hello,  Mary!" 

Instantly — foolishly,  of  course — she  an- 
swered him  and  replied: 

^'My  name's  not  Mary,  it's  Nellie," 


122  WAR  ON  THE 

"You  look  the  very  picture,"  he  responded, 
"of  a  girl  I  know  well  whose  name  is  Mary — 
and  she's  a  fine  girl,  too !  Are  any  of  your  folks 
here  to  meet  you?" 

"No,"  she  answered.  "My  father's  here  in 
the  city,  somewhere,  but  he  doesn't  know  I'm 
coming.  I've  been  working  out  in  the  country 
for  a  long  time  and  I  didn't  write  him  about 
coming  back." 

Her  answers  were  so  ingenuous  and  reveal- 
ing that  the  man  saw  that  he  had  an  easy  and 
simple  victim  to  deal  with.  Therefore  his  tac- 
tics were  very  direct. 

"It's  about  time  to  eat,"  he  suggested,  "and 
I  guess  we're  both  hungry.  You  go  to  a  res- 
taurant and  eat  with  me  and  perhaps  I  can  help 
you  to  find  your  father  quicker  than  you  could 
do  it  alone." 

She  accepted,  and  in  the  course  of  the  meal 
he  asked  her  if  she  would  not  like  to  find  a 
place  at  which  to  work.  "I  know  of  a  fine 
place  in  Blank  City,"  he  added.  "The  woman 
is  looking  for  a  good  girl  just  like  you." 

"Yes,  I'd  be  pleased  to  get  the  place,  but  I 
haven't  any  money  to  pay  the  fare  with,"  was 
her  answer. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  he  quickly  replied.  "I'll 
buy  your  ticket  and  give  you  a  little  money 
besides  for  a  cab  and  other  expenses.  The 
woman  told  me  to  do  that  if  I  could  find  her 
a  girl.    She'll  send  me  back  a  check  for  it  all." 

After  he  had  bought  the  ticket  and  put  her 
aboard  the  train  going  to  Blank  City,  he  wrote 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  123 

the  name  of  the  woman  to  whom  he  was  send- 
ing her,  gave  her  about  $2  extra  and  then  de- 
livered this  fatherly  advice  to  her : 

"You're  just  a  young  girl  and  it's  best  for 
you  not  to  talk  to  anybody  on  the  train  or  af- 
ter you  get  off.  Don't  show  this  paper  to  any- 
body or  tell  anybody  where  you're  going.  It 
isn't  any  of  their  business,  anyway.  And  as 
soon  as  you  get  off  the  train  you'll  find  plenty 
of  cabs  there.  Hand  your  paper  to  the  first 
cab  driver  in  the  line,  get  in  and  ride  to  Mrs. 

A 's  home.    Pay  the  driver  and  then  walk 

m. 

Believing  that  she  was  being  furnished  a 
position  by  a  remarkably  kind  man,  the  poor 
girl  followed  his  directions  implicitly — and 
landed  the  next  day  in  one  of  the  most  notori- 
ous houses  of  shame  in  the  state  of  Illinois  out- 
side of  Chicago.  How  she  was  found  and  res- 
cued is  a  story  quite  apart  from  the  purpose 
which  has  led  me  to  tell  of  this  incident — that 
of  indicating  how  tightly  the  slave  traders 
have  their  nets  spread  for  even  the  most  ordi- 
nary and  unattractive  prey.  They  let  no  girl 
escape  whom  they  dare  to  approach! 

It  may  be  well  and  to  the  point  to  add, 
however,  that  two  other  girls  who  had  been  in 
care  of  the  State  Home  were  found  to  be  in 
the  same  house  to  which  the  girl  had  been 
lured,  and  they  were  also  recovered. 

Almost  at  the  beginning  of  my  experience 
I  received  a  penciled  note  which  I  have  kept 
or  )iy  desk  as  a  stimulus  to  my  energies  and 


124  WAR  ON  THE 

my  watchfulness  along  the  line  of  checkmat- 
ing the  work  of  the  white  slavers.  It  is  very 
brief  and  terse — but  what  a  story  it  tells! 
Here  is  a  copy  of  it — with  the  substitution  of 
a  fictitious  name: 

"Ellen  Holmes  has  been  sold  for 
$50.00  to  Madame  Blank's  house  at 
Armour  avenue." 

The  statement  was  true — and  the  man  who 
sold  her  an4  the  woman  who  bought  her  were 
both  sent  to  the  state  penitentiary  as  a  penalty 
for  the  transaction! 

Another  fact  whiph  the  public  finds  hard  to 
believe — especially  the  public  of  mothers — is 
that  girls  who  are  lured  into  the  life  of  shame 
find  it  impossible  to  make  their  escape,  and  that 
they  are  prisoners  and  slaves  in  every  sense 
of  the  word.  I  recall  one  instance  of  a  girl 
from  a  good  home  who  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  a  white  slave  trader  and  been  sold 
to  a  house  in  the  red-light  district.  Her  people 
were  frantic  over  her  disappearance  and  made 
every  possible  effort  to  locate  her,  but  without 
success.  Several  months  after  the  excitement 
and  publicity  aroused  by  her  disappearance 
died  away,  a  newsboy  who  had  delivered  papers 
at  her  home — ^which  was  in  a  very  good  resi- 
dence district  of  the  city — happened  to  be  pass- 
ing ajong  a  cross  street  of  the  red-light  section 
— ^just  on  the  fringe  of  it,  in  fact.  Suddenly  he 
heard  a  tap  on  the  window,  looked  up  and  saw 


A 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  t25 

the  anxious  faee  of  the  lost  girl.  Then  she 
disappeared. 

Knowing  the  story  of  her  strange  disappear- 
ance, he  hurried  straight  to  her  home  and  told 
of  his  experience.  Instantly  the  father  secured 
officers  and  the  little  newsboy  led  the  posse 
back  to  the  house,  in  the  window  of  which  he 
had  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  face.  They  raided 
the  place  and  rescued  the  girl.  The  story 
of  the  terrible  treatment  which  she  had  re- 
ceived cannot  be  told  here.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  she  had  been  held  as  a  captive,  im- 
prisoned as  much  as  any  inmate  of  a  peni- 
tentiary is  imprisoned,  and  that  if  the  friendly 
newsboy  had  not  happened  to  pass  as  he  did^ 
the  window  from  which  she  was  looking  outj 
she  would  undoubtedly  be  there  today  or  in 
some  other  similar  prison  of  shame  through 
the  process  of  exchange. 

One  other  matter  in  this  connection  needs 
to  come  in  for  clear  and  decisive  emphasis:  the 
fact  that  the  runaway  marriage  is  the  favorite 
device  of  the  white  slaver  for  landing  victims 
who  could  not  otherwise  be  entrapped.  Thestf 
alleged  summer  resorts  and  excursion  centers 
which  are  well  advertised  as  Gretna  Greens, 
and  as  places  where  the  usual  legal  and  official 
formalities  preliminary  to  respectable  marriage 
are  reduced  to  a  minimum,  are  star  recruiting 
stations  for  the  white  slave  traffic.  I  have 
never  seen  this  point  brought  out  with  any  de- 
gree oi  clearness  in  any  article,  and  I  earnestly 
urge  all  mothers  to  give  this  statement  the 


126  WAR  ON  THE 

most  serious  consideration,  and  never  to  allow 
a  daughter  to  go  to  one  of  these  places  on  an 
excursion  or  under  any  pretext  whatever,  un- 
less accompanied  by  some  older  member  of  the 
family.  And  even  then  there  is  something 
unwholesome  and  contaminating  in  the  very 
atmosphere  of  such  a  place. 

Do  you  think  that  I  overstate  the  perils  of 
places  of  this  kind?  Of  these  gay  excursion 
centers,  these  American  Gretna  Greens?  I 
hesitate  to  say  how  many  girls  I  have  had  un- 
der my  care  who  were  enticed  into  a  "run- 
away marriage"  at  these  places — and  then 
promptly  sold  into  white  slavery  by  the  men 
whom  they  had  married,  the  men  who  married 
them  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  sell  them  to 
the  houses  of  the  red-light  district  and  live 
in  luxury  from  the  proceeds  of  their  shame. 

Let  every  mother  teach  her  daughter  that 
the  man  who  proposes  an  elopment,  a  runaway 
marriage,  is  not  to  be  trusted  for  an  instant, 
and  puts  himself  under  suspicion  of  being 
that  most  loathsome  of  all  things  in  human 
form — a  white  slave  trader! 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  127 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  TRAFFIC  IN  GIRLS. 

By  Charles  Nelson  Crittenton,  President  of  the 
National  Florence  Crittenton  Mission. 

Twenty-six  years  ago  in  New  York  City 
when  I  first  began  to  feel  an  interest  in  unfor- 
tunate girls  and  established  the  first  Florence 
Crittenton  Home,  now  known  as  the  Mother 
Mission,  one  of  the  things  which  surprised  and 
impressed  me  most  in  coming  close  in  touch 
with  the  subject,  was  that  almost  every  girl 
that  I  met  in  a  house  of  sin  was  supporting 
some  man  from  her  ill-gotten  earnings.  Either 
the  man  was  her  husband,  who  had  driven  her 
on  the  street  in  order  that  he  might  live  in  lux- 
ury and  ease,  or  else  he  was  her  paramour,  up- 
on whom  with  a  woman's  self -forgetful  devo- 
tion she  delighted  to  shower  everything  that 
she  could  earn.  In  addition  to  this  form  of 
slavery  I  also  found  that  the  majority  had  to 
pay  a  certain  percentage  of  their  earnings  to 
some  individual  or  organization  who  had  prom- 
ised them  immunity  from  arrest  and  to  whom 
they  looked  for  protection. 

These  were  well  recognized  facts.  Every  po- 
liceman and  every  judge  of  the  police  court 
knew  the  true  conditions  and  no  one  thought 
of  denying  them.    Althsxigh   frequently   the 


I2g  WAR  ON  THE 

poor  girls  would  be  kept  at  their  trade  by  slaps 
and  blows  and  threats  of  death,  the  authorities 
would  contend  that  they  were  "willing  slaves'* 
and  that  they  therefore  deserved  no  considera- 
tion or  sympathy. 

But  when  we  began  to  get  closer  to  the 
|a^a|:ts  of  the  girls,  to  know  their  true  histpfy, 
we  4ii5CQyere4  that  the  commenqernent  of  this 
form  of  slavery  had  been  even  in  a  baser  form 
r— that  before  the  girls  had  become  so-called 
• -willing  slaves"  they  were  "unwilling  slaves/' 
Many  of  them  had  fought  for  their  liberty  and 
had  submitted  only  because  they  had  been 
overcome  by  superior  force.  Some  of  them 
had  been  drugged ;  others  kept  under  lock  and 
key  until  such  time  when  either  their  better 
nature  had  been  drugged  into  unconsciousness 
or  hardened  into  a  devil-may-care  recklessness. 
Some  had  had  their  clothes  taken  from  them, 
others  had  been  cajoled  into  quietness  by  prom- 
ise of  great  rewards  or  by  intimidation,  which 
with  this  young  and  inexperienced  class  is  one 
of  the  most  potent  methods.  But  when  we, 
who  knew,  made  these  statements,  people  be- 
gan to  think  those  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  these  girls  were  going  too  far,  that  no  such 
conditions  existed,  they  pointed  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  beyond  human  possibility.  Many 
times  in  those  early  days,  when  I  would  talk 
to  my  friends  and  business  associates  and  tell 
them  of  the  conditions  which  existed  in  New 
York  City,  although  upon  ordinary  subjects 
they  had  the  greatfgst  respect  for  my  truthful- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  129 

ness  and  conservativeness,  having  known  me 
in  business  for  a  good  many  years,  they  Would 
look  at  me  with  pity  for  my  misguided  opin- 
ions. While  they  would  mildly  express  unbe- 
lief at  my  statement  to  my  face,  when  they  got 
behind  my  back  they  would  shake  their  heads 
and  say,  "Crittenton  has  gone  crazy,  do  you 
know  he  even  believes  now  that  girls  are  held 
in  slavery  in  New  York  City,  against  their 
wills,  for  immoral  purposes." 

But  I  have  been  familiar  with  so  many  cases 
of  this  form  of  slavery  that  they  are  too  nu- 
merous even  to  recall.  I  remember  well  one 
night,  being  on  one  of  the  streets  in  lower  New 
York,  when  a  girl  came  down  a  flight  of  steps 
leading  from  a  disreputable  house  where  rooms 
were  rented.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps  stood  d 
man  waiting  to  receive  her  earnings.  As  she 
stepped  upon  the  pavement  in  full  light  of  the 
gas  above  the  entrance,  she  handed  him  the 
money.  He  looked  at  it,  and  finding  it  was  less 
than  he  expected  or  needed,  with  a  terrible 
oath  he  felled  her  to  the  ground  and  said,  "I 
will  show  you  how  to  bring  me  such  a  little 
amount  of  money  as  this,  you  ought  to  have 
gotten  a  great  deal  more." 

Among  those  who  came  to  take  shelter  at  the 

Florence  Crittenton  Home  in  those  early  days 

were  beautiful  twins,  not  sixteen  years  old, 

from  a  country  village.  We  called  them  "Mary 

and  Martha.'*    Both  of  them  had  been  brought 

to  New  York  under  a  promise  of  marriage  and 

sold  into  a  life  of  sin.    We  did  all  we  could  tb 
9 


130  WAR  ON  THE 

free  them  from  their  masters,  but  it  was  im- 
possible. They  were  determined  that  they 
would  not  be  robbed  of  their  prey  which  was 
so  valuable  a  financial  investment.  Time  and 
time  again  they  were  hunted  down  by  their 
masters  and  lost  their  positions  through  the 
interference  of  these  men.  In  two  years  one  of 
the  girls  died  from  the  mistreatment  and  shame 
she  had  endured.  It  is  not  unusual  for  me  to 
see  the  other  one  in  New  York  whenever  I  am 
there,  still  under  the  bondage  of  her  so-called 
husband,  and  for  her  to  tell  me  that  it  is  no  use 
trying  to  escape.  Long  since  she  has  given  up 
all  hope,  and  that  she  expects  to  die  where  she 
is,  earning  money  to  supply  her  master  with 
the  luxuries  of  life,  by  selling  her  poor  little 
body. 

Among  the  many  methods  used  by  these 
fiends  in  human  form  to  trap  girls  into  houses 
of  sin,  is  courtship  and  false  marriage.  These 
men  go  into  the  country  districts  and,  under 
the  guise  of  commercial  men,  board  at  the  best 
hotels,  dress  handsomely,  cultivate  the  most 
captivating  manners,  and  then  look  for  their 
prey.  Upon  the  streets  they  see  a  pretty  girl 
and  immediately  lay  plans  to  become  acquaint- 
ed. Then  the  courtship  begins.  In  the  present 
condition  of  society  it  is  a  very  easy  thing  for 
well  reared  girls  to  begin  a  promiscuous  ac- 
quaintance, with  ample  opportunity  for  court- 
ship. There  was  never  a  time  when  the  bars 
were  so  low.  With  the  public  dance,  or  even 
the  more  exclusive  german,  the  skating  rink 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  131 

and  the  moving  picture  arcades,  all  of  which 
lend  themselves  to  the  making  of  intimate  and 
promiscuous  acquaintances  under  questionable 
surroundings,  it  is  easy  for  a  man  to  come  into 
a  community  and  in  a  few  days  meet  even  the 
best  class  of  girls,  to  say  nothing  of  the  girls 
who  are  earning  a  living  and  who  have 
no  home  influence.  These  girls  are  flattered 
by  the  handsome,  well-dressed  stranger  paying 
them  marked  attention,  and  are  quick  to  accept 
invitations  to  the  theater  or  to  walk  or  drive 
with  him.  If  the  girl  is  religious,  he  is  not  above 
using  the  cloak  of  religion,  expressing  fondness 
for  church  and  prayer  meetings  and  is  fre- 
quently to  be  found  at  such  places.  When  a 
girl's  confidence  and  affection  have  been  won, 
it  is  a  comparatively  easy  thing  to  accomplish 
her  ruin,  by  proposing  an  elopement.  Her 
scruples  and  arguments  are  easily  overcome  by 
the  skilled  deceiver,  and  trusting  him  implicit- 
ly as  her  accepted  lover,  she  unwittingly  goes 
to  her  doom.  When  they  arrive  in  the  city  a 
mock  marriage  is  performed,  for  there  are  ac- 
complices on  every  hand,  and  the  child  wife  is 
taken  into  a  house  of  sin,  which  she  has  been 
told  by  her  pretended  husband  is  an  elegant 
boarding  house. 

Can  you  imagine  any  greater  horror  than 
that  of  this  trusting  child  wife,  when  she  real- 
izes she  is  a  prisoner  and  a  slave  in  that  den  of 
shame?  And  such  slavery!  the  blackest  that 
has  ever  stained  human  history.  Shut  up  be- 
yond the  reach  of  friends— for  no  letter  she 


132  WAR  ON  THE 

may  write  finds  its  way  beyond  the  doors  of  her 
prison  house.  Should  she  call  a  police  officer 
the  chances  are  he  is  receiving  bribes  from  her 
keeper  and  he  will  not  help  her  to  freedom.  Is 
it  strange  that  soon  she  eagerly  drinks  the  wine 
that  is  constantly  offered  her,  and  sometimes 
actually  forced  down  her  throat,  and  smokes 
the  cigarette  with  its  benumbing  effect  of  opi- 
um and  tobacco,  so  that  under  the  influences 
of  these  fatal  drugs  she  may  forget  her  awful 
fate  and  hasten  her  early  death,  for  surely  no 
hell  in  the  other  world  can  be  more  dreadful 
than  a  house  of  shame  in  this  world. 

And  then  good  women  and  good  men  who 
see  her  poor  painted  face  later  peering  out  be- 
tween the  lace  curtains  of  her  dread  abode,  or, 
if  meeting  her  on  the  street,  draw  away  from 
her  and  say,  "Oh!  I  guess  she  is  there  because 
she  wants  to  be." 

This  expression  is  one  of  the  reasons  that 
this  condition  has  existed  so  long  unchanged. 
It  is  frequently  made  because  of  the  ignorance 
of  the  general  public  upon  the  subject.  But 
the  thought  that  when  one  sees  a  woman  in  a 
life  of  sin,  she  is  there  because  she  likes  it  and 
wants  to  be,  has  become  so  deeply  engraved 
upon  the  human  mind  that  it  is  difficult  to 
change  it.  Some  people  are  conscientious  in 
thinking  this,  because  they  are  ignorant. 
Others  know  better,  but  in  order  that  they 
may  not  feel  called  upon  to  take  an  active  part 
against  these  conditions,  try  to  salve  their  con- 
science by  saying  that  a  fallen  girl  cannot  be 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  133 

helped — ^nothing  can  be  done  for  them.  And 
so  it  goes — anything  to  remove  the  responsi- 
bility of  bettering  conditions  from  their  shoul- 
ders. 

But  today  we  are  facing  a  very  different  con- 
dition from  that  which  has  existed  ever  since 
I  have  been  interested  in  rescue  work,  and  for 
centuries  before.  The  International  Agree- 
ment for  the  Abolition  of  the  White  Slave  Traf- 
fic between  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world, 
which  was  entered  into  some  ten  years  ago  by 
all  of  the  civilized  nations  except  the  United 
States,  and  which  was  subscribed  to  by  the 
United  States  last  June,  has  put  an  entirely 
different  aspect  upon  the  whole  subject.  The 
abolition  of  the  white  slave  traffic  is  now  no 
longer  to  be  considered  as  the  feverish  dream 
of  enthusiastic  reformers,  but  its  effacement 
has  become  a  part  of  a  great  international 
agreement  between  nations  of  the  world,  and 
takes  its  place  along  with  other  great  interna- 
tional questions  which  are  adjudicated  by  the 
same  process. 

The  recent  splendid  immigration  laws  which 
have  been  passed  by  the  United  States,  pro- 
tecting immigrant  girls  until  they  have  been 
in  this  country  three  years,  has  been  the  law 
under  which  most  of  the  cases  of  white  slave 
traffic  have  been  prosecuted.  The  records  of 
the  Federal  courts,  wherever  the  authorities 
have  taken  cognizance,  are  full  of  the  records 
of  cases  which  have  been  brought  to  trial. 
Many  of  the  guilty  parties  have  been  prose- 


134  WAR  ON  THE 

cuted  and  are  now  behind  prison  bars.  Others 
are  awaiting  trial,  and  many  others  have  es- 
caped because  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  peo- 
ple to  testify  against  them.  One  of  the  most 
dangerous  leaders  in  the  traffic  has  recently 
forfeited  handsome  holdings  of  real  estate  in 
Chicago,  which  she  had  put  up  for  her  bond, 
and  escaped  to  France.  Although  fleeing  from 
the  United  States  into  France,  which  is  also 
one  of  the  countries  co-operating  in  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  white  slave  traffic,  her  passion  for 
the  business  was  so  great  that,  when  recently 
arrested  in  France,  under  a  similar  charge,  she 
was  found  to  have  several  young  women  from 
Aifierica  in  her  clutches. 

But  as  this  law  protects  only  immigrant 
girls,  all  the  cases  brought  have  been  in  the 
interest  of  these  foreign  girls.  Thus  far  no 
one  has  undertaken  to  prosecute  the  offenders 
against  American-bom  girls.  When  the  cur- 
tain is  drawn  back  upon  the  iniquitous  system 
in  which  they  have  been  the  victims,  a  new 
chamber  of  horrors  will  be  opened  to  the  pub- 
lic gaze.  But,  thank  God,  good  will  follow,  as 
is  always  the  case  when  the  light  is  turned  on. 
Already  laws  have  been  presented  before  a 
number  of  state  legislatures  looking  to  the 
prosecution  of  those  guilty  of  this  inhuman 
traffic  in  native-born  girls,  and  it  will  not  be 
long  before  every  state  in  the  Union  will  have 
laws  under  which  they  can  prosecute  any  man 
or  woman  guilty  of  this  crime. 

One  of  the  great  troubles  in  fighting  this  evil 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  135 

is  the  prejudice  against  fallen  girls  and  the 
fact  that  because  a  woman  is  fallen  seems  to  be 
just  cause  to  convict  her  of  every  other  crime 
in  the  decalogue,  thus  removing  her  from  the 
pale  of  helpful  sympathy  which  is  extended  to 
almost  every  other  class  of  unfortunate  beings. 
Even  convicted  murderers  and  kidnapers  are 
treated  with  more  intelligent  ssmipathy.  Every 
statement  which  she  makes  is  at  once  consid- 
ered to  be  untrue.  So  far  has  this  prejudice 
gone  that  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  in  a  deci- 
sion by  its  supreme  court,  made  some  years 
ago,  it  was  declared  that  a  woman  of  immoral 
life  was  debarred  from  giving  testimony  in  the 
courts  of  that  state,  as  the  fact  of  her  immoral- 
ity prevented  her  from  being  a  credible  wit- 
ness. It  declared  at  the  same  time  that  im- 
morality did  not  in  the  same  way  unfit  or  de- 
bar a  man.  The  difficulty  of  convicting  a  per- 
son under  trial  for  such  a  crime  as  this  is  large- 
ly increased  because  of  this  attitude  of  the  pub- 
lic mind.  The  evidence  must  be  so  overwhelm- 
ing against  the  person  that  all  of  the  quibbles 
and  questions  and  flaws  which  is  possible  for 
the  human  mind  to  make,  are  answerable,  and 
even  then  many  will  feel  the  guilty  person  hasi 
been  unjustly  punished,  and  that  if  the  girl  had 
really  wanted  to  make  her  escape  from  her  cap- 
tors she  could  have  done  so. 

The  prosecuting  of  any  other  character  of 
cases  where  the  sex  question  does  not  enter  is 
very  much  easier.  Take  the  two  last 
cases   of   kidnaping,   which   have   interested 


136  WAR  ON  THE 

the  entire  public  and  press  of  the  coun- 
try, as  an  example  of  what  I  mean.  In 
the  well-known  Philadelphia  case  of  1908, 
in  which  an  unusually  bright  boy  of  ten 
years  was  the  victim,  it  was  found  that 
the  kidnaper,  a  man,  had  taken  the  boy  with 
him  to  lunch  at  several  restaurants,  had  left 
him  alone  for  hours  in  a  vacant  house,  from 
the  window  of  which  he  might  at  any  moment 
have  called  to  a  passer-by  and  told  him  of  his 
sad  plight;  had  even  sat  several  hours  with 
him  in  the  crowded  Broad  Street  Station  in 
Philadelphia,  and  yet,  with  all  of  these  oppor- 
tunities of  making  his  trouble  known,  and  es- 
caping from  the  clutches  of  the  man,  the  boy 
had  taken  advantage  of  none  of  them,  but  had 
sat  silent  and  apparently  a  willing  victim.  In 
spite  of  these  extenuating  circumstances,  it 
only  took  the  jury  a  few  moments  to  convict 
and  send  the  guilty  man  to  the  penitentiary  for 
a  long  period.  Had  the  boy  been  a  girl,  and 
had  she  not  made  any  more  effort  than  he  did 
to  escape  from  her  captor,  and  had  the  fact 
been  known  that  the  man  had  taken  advantage 
of  her  innocence  not  only  to  kidnap  her,  but  al- 
so rob  her  of  her  virtue,  it  would  have  been  ab- 
solutely impossible  to  convict  him  of  kidnap- 
ing. A  recent  case  prosecuted  in  Baltimore, 
of  a  similar  character,  with  these  added  fea- 
tures, proves  the  truth  of  this  statement,  the 
child  being  a  girl  eleven  years  old.  The  man 
was  given  a  sentence  of  twenty-one  years  only, 
and  that  upon  the  ground  of  the  child  being 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  137 

under  the  age  of  consent.  Even  this  verdict 
was  considered  extreme  by  many  who  believed 
that  the  child  was  willing  to  go  with  him  be- 
cause she  had  written  a  letter  to  her  father  and 
mother,  in  which  she  had  not  complained  of 
ill  treatment.  It  was  proven  that  the  little  girl 
was  made  to  write  the  letter  by  the  man,  who 
took  it  out  and  mailed  it  himself,  and  who 
forced  her  to  write  just  what  he  said.  Had  lit- 
tle Billy  Whitla  been  a  little  girl,  and  it  was 
proven  that  she  had  sat  in  a  buggy  and  had 
taken  candy  and  accepted  favors,  and  had  been 
perfectly  happy,  as  a  child  might,  with  her  cap- 
tor, it  would  have  been  a  very  much  more  dif- 
ficult case  to  prosecute  than  that  when  the  vic- 
tim was  a  boy.  In  one  the  sex  question  would 
almost  certainly  have  been  introduced  to  the 
further  undoing  of  the  punishment  for  the 
crime. 

Such  work  as  the  Woman's  World  is  doing, 
as  well  as  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  other 
well-known  magazines,  in  giving  publicity  to 
these  facts,  will  be  of  inestimable  value  in  the 
protection  of  youth.  Soon  it  will  be  impossible 
for  human  ingenuity  to  devise  schemes  for  the 
undoing  of  girls  that  have  not  already  been  ex- 
posed by  the  daily  papers  and  magazines,  thus 
warning  girls  and  their  parents  or  guardians  of 
the  conditions  under  which  they  are  placed. 
Had  this  information  been  given  to  the  moth- 
ers alone,  many  of  them  are  so  ignorant  of  the 
present  conditions  that  they  would  not  have 
seen  the  necessity  of  informing  their  daugh- 


138  WAR  ON  THE 

ters.  But  coming,  as  it  does,  through  the  ave- 
nues of  daily  reading,  it  reaches  the  daughter 
as  well  as  the  mother,  thus  giving  her  the 
knowledge  gleaned  at  a  frightful  cost  by 
others,  to  protect  her. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  139 


CHAPTER  X. 

WARFARE  AGAINST  THE  WHITE 
SLAVE  TRADE. 

By  Clifford  G.  Roe,  Assistant  State's  Attorney 
of  Cook  County,  111. 

There  is  a  problem  of  slavery  today  for  the 
people  to  solve.  The  question  is :  "How  shall 
the  warfare  against  White  Slavery  be  waged 
to  blot  out  this  cloud  upon  civilization  expedi- 
tiously?" Over  two  years  ago  I  learned  that 
there  was  a  gigantic  slave  trade  in  women,  and 
with  a  handful  of  people  we  began  to  fight  the 
traders.  That  a  system  of  slavery,  debasing 
and  vile,  had  grown  to  enormous  proportions 
before  our  very  doors  seemed  beyond  belief,  an 
impossibility,  and  even  romantic.  Most  people 
were  skeptical  of  the  existence  of  a  well  de- 
fined and  organized  traffic  in  girls,  and  they 
seemed  to  think  that  those  advocating  the 
abolition  of  this  nefarious  trade  were  either 
visionists  or  fanatics.  The  struggle  against 
this  trade  in  women  was  a  hard  one  at  first. 
The  ministry,  although  dazed,  were  finally 
aroused  to  an  appreciation  of  the  truth. 

Having  faith  in  the  people,  and  believing 
that  this  republic  lauds  and  honors  the  chastity 
and  sanctity  of  women,  I  believed  in  bringing 
this  hideous  traffic  in  girls  to  the  public  notice, 


140  WAR  ON  THE 

and  when  our  citizens  fully  realized  its  impor- 
tance they  would  rise  to  the  occasion  and  aid 
in  the  warfare  to  exterminate  white  slavery. 
The  result  has  been  most  gratifying,  for 
churches,  clubs,  associations,  newspapers,  men 
and  women  in  all  walks  of  life  have  taken  up 
the  cause.  Great  armies  like  those  of  a  genera- 
tion ago  cannot  uproot  this  slavery,  but  the 
slavery  of  today  must  be  eliminated  by  pub- 
licity, education,  legislation  and  law  enforce- 
ment. That  is  the  reason  magazines  have 
brought  to  their  readers  facts  concerning  this 
hideous  trade.  The  results  of  this  heroic  work 
have  been  wonderful,  for  thousands  of  letters 
inquiring  about  white  slavery  have  been  re- 
ceived, and  associations  and  clubs  have  formed 
to  fight  white  slavery,  and  legislation  upon  the 
subject  has  been  introduced  in  many  states. 
If  this  great  good  to  our  social  life  could  not 
be  brought  about  by  publicity,  there  would  not 
be  any  reason  for  bringing  before  the  people 
and  into  the  midst  of  the  family  circle  facts 
which  are  so  black  and  revolting.  But  to  know 
and  understand  we  must  cast  aside  false  mod- 
esty, take  off  our  kid  gloves  and  handle  this 
great  social  problem  with  our  naked  hands. 

The  trade  in  women  is  domestic  and  foreign, 
local  and  international.  The  Honorable  Edwin 
W.  Sims,  United  States  District  Attorney  at 
Chicago,  and  Harry  A.  Parkin,  his  Assistant, 
have  been  waging  valiant  warfare  against  the 
foreign  and  international  trade  during  the  past 
year.     Articles  in  leading  magazines  which 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  141 

were  written  by  them  have  dealt  chiefly  with 
that  phase  of  the  white  slave  trade.  They  have 
explained,  also,  the  debt  system  as  a  means  of 
keeping  the  girls  in  resorts  after  they  are  pro- 
cured and  sold.  It  is  with  the  domestic  and 
local  trade  I  have  been  mostly  concerned.  In 
Chicago  alone  there  are  more  than  5,000 
women  leading  a  life  of  shame,  and  statistics 
show  that  the  average  life  of  a  fallen  woman 
is  five  years.  One  thousand  persons  must, 
therefore,  be  recruited  every  year  in  Chicago 
alone.  How  many  voluntarily  go  into  this  life? 
It  is  estimated  about  forty  per  cent!  This 
shows  us  that  sixty  per  cent  are  led  into  it  by 
some  scheme  or  entrapped  and  sold,  and  at 
least  two-thirds  of  this  number  are  from  our 
own  country,  being  inveigled  from  farms, 
towns  and  cities.  One  may  inquire,  "How  is 
it  that  girls  are  procured  so  easily  without  the 
public  being  aware  of  what  is  going  on?" 

The  answer  is  that  love  and  ambition  are 
the  baits  which  the  procurers  flaunt  in  the  faces 
of  their  proposed  victims.  Often  it  happens 
that  promises  of  positions  on  the  stage,  in 
stores,  and  various  occupations  alluring  to 
young  girls  cause  many  to  fall,  captives  in  the 
great  net  set  for  them. 

During  the  past  two  years  there  have  been 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  white  slave 
cases  tried  in  Chicago  under  the  Illinois  law, 
resulting  in  scores  of  confessions  made  by  the 
procurers,  and  statements  by  hundreds  of  the 


142  WAR  ON  THE 

girls  who  were  procured  as  to  the  methods 
employed  by  the  traders. 

To  show  how  easily  it  is  done,  let  me  tell 
you  a  story  of  a  girl  from  Elgin,  Illinois,  who 
was  caught  by  the  love  scheme.  One  day  this 
pretty  little  German  lass  was  in  a  Chicago  store 
buying  sheet  music  when  a  well-dressed,  hand- 
some, young  man,  apparently  looking  at  mu- 
sic, too,  asked  her  the  names  of  some  of  the  lat- 
est popular  songs,  as  he  wanted  to  buy  them. 
At  first  she  turned  away  and  did  not  heed  him, 
but  he  was  not  to  be  repulsed,  and  pressing 
his  attentions  further  upon  her,  he  finally  en- 
gaged her  in  conversation.  A  luncheon  at  a 
nearby  restaurant,  in  which  she  joined  him, 
was  the  result,  and  there  he  told  her  how  at 
first  sight  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  her  beauty. 
After  lunch  he  suggested  a  visit  to  his  bachelor 
apartments,  but  this  she  refused.  Seeing  that 
this  plan  was  a  failure,  he  asked  her  to  marry 
him  then  and  there.  The  silly  girl,  believing 
he  loved  her,  and  enchanted  by  the  picture  he 
had  painted  of  his  father's  wealth  and  fine 
home  in  New  York  City,  consented,  and  they 
were  married.  After  the  ceremony  he  told  her 
that  he  was  about  "broke,"  and  said  that  he 
would  take  her  to  a  place  where  she  could 
make  enough  money  in  a  few  days  to  pay  their 
way  to  New  York,  where  everything  would  be 
lovely,  and  as  they  were  married  it  would  be 
no  one's  business  how  she  got  the  money.  Im- 
mediately accounts  of  white  slave  procurers 
which  she  had  read  came  to  her  mind,  and  she 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  143 

then  realized  what  she  had  fallen  into.  Lest 
she  might  arouse  in  him  suspicion,  she  con- 
sented to  do  as  he  asked,  but  told  him  that  be- 
fore going  out  to  the  resort  she  wanted  to  buy 
some  clothing,  and  arranged  to  meet  him  at 
a  certain  down-town  corner  toward  evening. 
She  hurried  to  the  County  Court,  where  an  es- 
cort was  given  her,  and  she  was  brought  to  the 
court  where  I  was  prosecuting.  I  armed  an 
officer  with  a  warrant  and  he  followed  the  girl 
to  the  appointed  place  of  meeting.  The  young 
man  was  there  waiting  for  his  victim.  The  of- 
ficer stepped  up  and  put  him  under  arrest,  and 
the  next  day  he  was  tried  and  convicted.  It 
was  then  learned  that  he  was  a  well  known 
procurer  of  girls.  Thus  saved  from  a  life  of 
ruin,  the  Elgin  girl  went  home  heart-broken, 
but  wiser  for  her  experience.  Recently  she  se- 
cured in  the  County  Court  an  annulment  of 
the  marriage.  Inquiry  proved  that  the  girl 
was  from  a  very  respectable  home,  and  that  she 
had  always  been  a  good,  honest,  industrious 
girl.  Many  similar  cases  have  come  out  in  the 
courts;  however,  the  girls  in  most  instances 
were  not  favored  by  the  same  good  fortune 
which  blessed  the  little  girl  from  Elgin,  and 
the  outcome  was  much  more  disastrous.  This 
is  an  illustration  of  the  ease  with  which  pan- 
derers  make  use  of  love  as  a  means  of  securing 
girls  for  immoral  houses. 

The  other  method  used  by  the  traders  is  the 
one  which  appeals  to  the  girl's  ambitions. 
Sometimes  the  procurers  have  gained  the  par- 


144  WAR  ON  THE 

ents'  consent  to  allow  their  daughters  to  ac- 
company the  supposed  theatrical  or  employ- 
ment agent,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  some  city, 
thinking  that  through  the  daughter's  success 
their  station  in  life  would  be  raised.  A  girl  in 
a  country  community,  or  say  factory  town,  is 
working  for  four  or  five  dollars  each  week, 
when  one  of  these  procurers,  traveling  under 
the  guise  of  an  agent,  meets  her  and  promises 
ten  to  twenty  dollars  a  week  for  work  in  the 
city.  She  may  be  perfectly  sincere  and  honest 
in  her  intention  to  better  her  condition.  She 
may  want  finer  clothes,  a  wider  knowledge  of 
the  world,  or  an  education,  and  so  she  consents 
to  go  with  him,  and  finally,  against  her  will, 
ends  up  as  an  inmate  in  some  immoral  place. 

One  of  the  most  recent  cases  shows  how 
readily  girls  jump  at  an  opportunity  to  better 
their  station  in  life.  This  case  first  came  be- 
fore the  court  the  day  after  last  Christmas, 
when  Frank  Kelly  was  arrested  for  carrying 
a  revolver,  with  which  he  tried  to  shoot  an  old 
man.  During  the  trial  the  story  developed  as 
follows: 

A  year  ago  last  summer  fifteen-year-old 
Margaret  Smith  was  working  about  the  simple 
home  near  Benton  Harbor,  Michigan.  The 
father,  employed  by  the  Pere  Marquette  Rail- 
road, was  away  from  home  a  good  share  of  the 
time.  One  day  a  graphophone  agent  called  at 
the  house  and  the  family  became  much  inter- 
ested in  one  of  his  musical  machines.  Shortly 
afterward  this  agent  brought  with  him  to  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  145 

Smith  home  Frank  Kelly,  and  introduced  him 
to  Maggie,  as  she  was  called  by  her  folks.  In 
a  day  or  two  Margaret  was  on  her  way  to  Chi- 
cago with  Kelly,  who  promised  her  an  excel- 
lent position  in  the  city.  Upon  her  arrival 
Margaret  was  sold  into  one  of  the  lowest  dives 
in  Chicago,  located  in  South  Clark  street,  and 
owned  by  an  Italian  named  Battista  Pizza. 
Here  she  learned  that  her  captor  was  not  Frank 
Kelly,  but  an  Italian  whose  real  name  is  Al- 
phonse  Citro.  For  a  year  she  was  kept  as  a 
slave  in  this  resort,  which  was  over  a  saloon, 
and  the  entrance  was  through  a  back  alley. 
The  only  visitors  were  Italians,  who  came  for 
immoral  purposes.  Learning  last  summer  that 
Margaret's  father,  who  had  been  hunting  re- 
lentlessly for  his  daughter,  was  on  the  track 
of  her,  the  girl  was  taken  by  Alphonse  Citro, 
alias  Kelly,  to  Gary,  Indiana.  When  the  father 
came  to  the  resort  with  a  policeman  he  found 
that  his  daughter  had  gone.  She  was  kept  in 
Gary  about  two  months,  and  then  returned  to 
this  disreputable  place,  from  which  she  escaped 
finally,  the  Monday  before  Christmas.  A 
young  barber  took  pity  on  her  after  hearing 
her  sad  story  and  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  his 
parents,  who  took  her  to  their  home.  Alphonse 
Citro  (Kelly)  looked  for  her  for  almost  a  week, 
and  at  last  saw  her  going  from  a  store  to  this 
home,  where  she  was  staying.  He  went  to  the 
house  and  demanded  at  the  point  of  a  revolver 
that  she  be  given  up,  as  he  said: 
"I  am  losing  money  every  day  she  is  gone." 


146  WAR  ON  THE 

There  was  a  quarrel  over  the  girl,  during 
which  some  people  from  the  outside  were  at- 
tracted to  the  house  by  the  commotion.  Citro, 
becoming  frightened,  fled  down  the  street,  and 
as  he  ran  threw  the  revolver,  with  which  he 
tried  to  shoot  the  father  of  the  barber  during 
the  quarrel,  over  a  fence  into  a  coal  yard.  Aft- 
er running  two  blocks,  he  was  caught  and  ar- 
rested. Upon  these  facts  this  procurer,  Citro, 
alias  Kelly,  was  prosecuted  and  found  guilty 
under  the  new  pandering  law  in  Illinois,  and 
received  a  sentence  of  one  year's  imprisonment 
and  a  fine  of  five  hundred  dollars.  The  poor 
old  father  and  mother,  distressed  and  broken- 
hearted, were  in  court  during  the  trial  with 
their  arms  around  each  other,  sobbing  with 
joy  because  their  little  girl  had  been  found. 
Pizza,  the  owner  of  the  place,  was  indicted  by 
the  state  grand  jury,  but  escaped  to  Italy. 
This  case  is  only  one  of  the  hundreds  which 
might  be  told  to  show  how  the  girls  leave  home 
upon  the  promise  of  securing  employment  and 
are  in  this  way  procured  for  places  of  ill-re- 
pute. 

The  methods  employed  to  entice  young 
women  are  quite  similar,  but  as  to  the  partic- 
ulars each  case  varies  to  some  extent.  After 
the  girls  are  once  within  the  resort,  the  stories 
are  about  the  same.  Their  street  clothes  are 
seized  and  parlor  dresses  varying  in  length 
are  put  upon  them.  They  are  threatened,  nev- 
er allowed  to  write  letters,  never  permitted  the 
use  of  the  telephone,  never  trusted  outside  the 


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"MY  GOD!   IF  ONLY  I  COULD  GET  OUT  OF  HERE" 
The  midnight  shriek  of  a  young  girl  in  the  vice  district  of  a  large 
city,  heard  by  two  worthy  men,  started  a  crusade  which  resulted  il 
closing  up  the  dens  of  shame  in  that  city.    (See  page  450.) 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  147 

house  without  the  escort  of  a  procurer,  until 
two  or  three  months  have  elapsed,  when  they 
are  considered  hardened  to  the  life  and  too 
ashamed  to  face  parents  and  friends  again.  If 
they  should  ask  some  visitor  to  the  house  to 
help  them,  would  he  care  to  expose  his  name 
to  the  police,  as  he  would  have  to,  by  reporting 
the  matter?  Would  he  want  his  friends,  or 
the  folks  at  home  to  know  that  he  had  visited 
such  a  place?  No;  he  would  let  the  girl  get 
out  the  best  way  she  could;  even  though  he 
might  promise  to  help  her.  Girls  are  told  of  or 
perhaps  have  witnessed  others  who  tried  to  es- 
cape, have  seen  their  failure  and  punishment, 
and  are  thereby  cowed  into  submission.  They 
are  always  held  upon  the. pretense  of  being  in- 
debted to  the  house,  and  this  indebtedness  has 
long  been  the  backbone  of  the  white  slave  sys- 
tem. From  the  time  the  girl  is  first  sold  into 
the  house  she  is  constantly  in  debt.  First,  for 
the  money  the  owner  gave  to  the  procurer  for 
her,  next,  for  her  parlor  clothes,  then  for  the 
money  her  procurer  borrows  from  the  owner 
on  her  as  his  property,  goods  and  chattel.  The 
bonds  of  slavery  are  thus  fastened  upon  these 
poor  mortals  by  a  system  of  debt  and  vice  that 
the  people  of  this  great  country  little  realized 
existed  until  lately. 

Fighting  against  this  slave  trade  under  the 
archaic  Illinois  laws  was  quite  disheartening 
because  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  more 
than  a  fine  upon  the  charge  of  disorderly  con- 
duct.   The  laws  were  so  full  of  loopholes  that 

10 


148  WAR  ON  THE 

the  traders  laughed  at  the  idea  of  being  prose- 
cuted. However,  in  Illinois,  at  least,  we  have 
choked  the  laugh.  The  features  once  wreathed 
in  smiles  begin  to  show  the  lines  of  worry  and 
fear,  for  a  new  law  called  the  Pandering  Act 
has  been  passed.  This  went  into  force  July 
I  St,  igo8.  The  new  law  is  good,  but  experience 
has  shown  where  improvement  is  necessary. 
Without  exception,  in  cases  I  have  tried,  cer- 
tain wholesome-minded  jurors  have  said  after 
concluding  the  case,  that  the  penalty  was  too 
light  for  the  first  offender.  It  should  be  made 
more  severe.  Therefore  an  effort  is  now  be- 
ing made  to  make  the  first  offense  punishable 
by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  from  one 
to  ten  years.  Then,  also,  there  should  be  a 
new  law  covering  the  bringing  a  female  per- 
son of  any  age  into  the  state  or  taking  her  out 
of  the  state  for  immoral  purposes.  The  age 
limit  should  be  omitted  from  the  present  Illi- 
nois law,  which  does  not  punish  those  bringing 
girls  over  the  age  of  eighteen  into  the  state. 
While  other  states  are  sending  for  copies  of 
the  Illinois  pandering  and  other  white  slave 
laws,  the  state  legislation  will  soon  be  uniform 
upon  this  subject,  the  United  States  govern- 
ment should  be  alive  to  the  situation  also.  At 
present  it  has  only  the  immigration  laws  regu- 
lating the  importation  of  immoral  women  to 
fall  back  upon.  A  federal  law  under  the  inter- 
state and  foreign  commerce  act  should  be 
passed  at  once.  The  federal  government  has 
better  and  more  effective  machinery  for  get- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  149 

ting  at  the  facts  in  the  foreign  and  interstate 
traffic  in  girls  than  have  the  various  states. 
Commerce  consists  in  intercourse  and  traffic, 
including  in  these  terms  the  transportation  and 
transit  of  persons  and  property,  as  well  as  the 
purchase,  sale  and  barter  of  persons  and  prop- 
erty and  agreements  therefor.  A  federal  law 
might  be  enacted  as  follows : 

"Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Senate  and  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  that  whoever 
shall  procure,  entice  or  encourage  any  female 
person  to  leave  one  of  the  states  of  the  United 
States  of  America  to  go  into  any  other  state  in 
the  United  States  of  America  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution  or  to  become  an  inmate  of  a 
house  of  prostitution  or  to  enter  any  place 
where  prostitution  is  practiced  or  allowed,  or 
shall  attempt  to  procure  or  entice  any  female 
person  to  leave  one  of  the  states  of  the  United 
States  of  America  to  go  into  any  other  state  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  to  become  an 
inmate  of  a  house  of  prostitution  or  to  enter 
any  place  where  prostitution  is  practiced  or 
allowed,  or  shall  receive  or  give,  or  agree  to 
receive  or  give  any  money  or  thing  of  value  for 
procuring  or  attempting  to  procure  any  female 
person  to  leave  one  of  the  states  of  the  United 
States  of  America  to  go  into  any  other  state  in 
the  United  States  of  America  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution  or  to  become  an  inmate  of  a 
house  of  prostitution,  or  to  enter  any  place 
where  prostitution   is  practiced  or  allowed, 


150  WAR  ON  THE 

shall,  in  every  case,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  fel- 
ony, and  on  conviction  thereof  be  imprisoned 
not  more  than  ten  years  and  pay  a  fine  of  not 
more  than  ten  thousand  dollars." 

Under  the  recent  federal  decisions  what  can 
prevent  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  such 
a  law  making  the  traffic  in  women  illegal?  Of 
course,  offenses  committed  solely  within  the 
state  could  not  be  reached  by  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. 

Other  needed  legislative  regulations  con- 
cerning the  white  slave  traffic,  such  as  laws 
against  the  procuring  system  and  the  indebt- 
edness system,  have  been  set  forth  in  other  ar- 
ticles in  this  magazine.  However,  besides  these 
laws  it  v/ill  be  necessary  in  each  state  to  create 
a  commission  in  the  various  cities,  other  than 
the  police  department,  which  shall  keep  a  com- 
plete record  of  all  houses  of  ill-fame  and  their 
inmates.  A  public  bureau  of  information 
should  be  established  by  law  where  parents 
and  friends  could  easily  learn  the  whereabouts 
of  girls  who  have  not  been  heard  from,  and  this 
bureau  should  have  the  names  of  every  inmate 
of  a  disreputable  house.  Such  a  commission 
should  have  power  to  inquire  carefully  into  the 
life  of  every  girl.  Statements  should  be  made, 
under  oath,  and  the  righxt  to  ascertain  whether 
or  not  these  statements  were  true  should  be 
given  the  commission.  Thereby  the  infected 
spots  in  every  part  of  the  country  could  be  cov- 
ered, and  every  girl  and  woman  in  immoral 
places  could  be  accounted  for.    The  fact  that 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  151 

this  has  not  been  done  heretofore  has  greatly 
aided  the  slave  traders  because  their  success  is 
accomplished  by  secrecy.  Let  us  drag  the 
monster,  white  slavery,  from  under  ground  and 
let  the  light  of  day  show  upon  it,  and  then  we 
shall  have  gone  a  long  way  towards  extermina- 
tion of  this  traffic. 

That  secrecy  is  maintained  as  to  who  the 
girls  are  and  where  they  are  from  is  evidenced 
by  one  of  the  many  letters  I  have  received,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy: 

Chicago,  111.,  July  13,  1908. 
Mr.  Clifford  G.  Roe, 

Dear  Sir : — Did  you  receive  a  letter  from  my 

mother,  Mrs.  Effie  ,  from  Eloise,  Mich. 

If  so,  I  wish  you  would  come  and  see  me  so  I 
can  tell  you  everything.  I  have  not  been  out 
of  the  house  for  three  months.  I  have  not  got 
any  clothes  to  wear  on  the  street  because  I 
owe  a  debt.  I  wish  you  could  come  and  see 
me  and  I  can  tell  you  everything  then.  I  am  a 
White  Slave  for  sure.  Please  excuse  pencil,  I 
had  to  write  this  and  sneak  this  out.  Please 
see  to  this  at  once  and  help  me  and  oblige, 

Viola . 

With  people  passing  back  and  forth  on  the 
street  and  in  and  out  of  the  house  every  day  it 
seems  astonishing  that  girls  can  be  kept  as 
slaves.  However,  the  above  appeal  for  help 
tells  the  story,  not  alone  of  the  writer,  but  of 
the  thousands  of  girls  whose  lives  are  being 
crushed,  the  minds  depraved,  and  the  bodies 


152  WAR  ON  THE 

diseased  by  outrageous  bondage.  It  was  dis- 
covered  that  Viola  had  been  given  a  fictitious 
name,  all  avenues  of  communication  with  the 
outside  world  were  cut  off,  and  she  had  lived  in 
constant  fear  of  being  beaten  if  she  let  anyone 
know  who  she  was.  At  last  through  a  ruse  she 
succeeded  in  getting  letters  to  her  mother  and 
myself,  which  brought  about  her  rescue  and 
the  return  of  the  girl  to  her  mother,  who  is  an 
invalid  in  Wayne  County  Hospital  at  Eloise, 
Michigan. 

The  owners  of  the  resort  where  she  was  held 
were  brought  before  the  bar  of  justice  and  the 
judge  in  sentencing  them  said:  "The  levee  re- 
sort keepers  are  murdering  the  souls  of  girls 
and  women  by  binding  them  with  ropes  of  il- 
legal debt;  this  practice  must  be  wiped  out." 

The  next  question  which  confronts  us  is 
what  shall  we  do  with  the  girls  after  they  are 
liberated  from  the  houses?  Some  have  parents, 
some  are  ashamed  to  go  back  home,  while 
others  are  diseased.  Certainly  it  seems  a  pity 
to  turn  them  out  and  let  them  battle  against 
the  prejudice  of  a  "past  life.'*  Homes  and  in- 
stitutions for  girls  are  often  filled  or  the  doors 
are  barred  against  fallen  women.  The  solution 
of  the  problem  is  a  home  for  white  slaves  in 
every  large  city  in  the  country. 

Such  a  home  should  be  well  equipped  with  a 
hospital  to  cure  disease  contracted  in  disrep- 
utable houses,  and  then  there  should  be  schools 
in  the  institute  for  training  the  girls  for  useful 
lives,  where  sewing,  cooking,  music,  art,  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  153 

other  things  are  taught.  In  this  way  the  girls 
would  be  fitted  to  earn  honest  and  wholesome 
livelihoods  when  they  go  out  to  face  the  world. 

Letters  are  sent  me  from  all  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent asking  what  can  be  done  to  help  the 
white  slaves.  My  answer  is,  form  organiza- 
tions everywhere  to  fight  this  traffic.  Through 
these  organizations  educate  the  girls  in  the 
rural  communities  to  be  careful  how  they  are 
enticed  or  persuaded  to  go  to  the  cities.  De- 
mand proper  legislation,  write  the  senators  and 
representatives  about  it,  in  all  places  see  that 
the  laws  in  regard  to  disorderly  resorts  are  en- 
forced, that  the  foregoing  proposed  commis- 
sion is  established  and  help  build  homes  for 
training  the  girls  for  better  lives. 

What  mockery  it  is  to  have  in  our  harbor  in 
New  York  the  statue  of  Liberty  with  out- 
stretched arms  welcoming  the  foreign  girl  to 
the  land  of  the  free!  How  she  must  sneer  at 
it  and  rebuke  the  country  with  such  an  em- 
blematic monument  at  its  very  gate  when  she 
finds  here  a  slavery  whose  chains  bind  the 
captive  more  securely  than  those  in  the  coun- 
try from  which  she  has  come! 

What  a  travesty  to  wrap  the  flag  of  Amer- 
ica around  our  girls  and  extol  virtue  and  pur- 
ity, freedom  and  liberty,  and  then  not  raise  a 
hand  to  protect  our  own  girls  who  are  being 
procured  by  white  slave  traders  every  day! 

Some  ministers  have  said  that  the  subject 
is  too  black  to  present  to  their  congregations. 
It  is  a  problem,  they  said,  for  the  public  au- 


154  WAR  ON  THE 

thorities  and  slum  workers,  not  a  question  for 
the  high-minded  citizen.  It  is  the  hope  that 
the  readers  of  this  book,  who  are  church 
members,  will  suggest  that  their  pastors  aid 
in  the  struggle  against  white  slavery,  and  that 
through  them,  people  everywhere  may  be 
awakened  to  a  realization  of  its  importance. 
No  social  problem  is  too  unclean  for  the  people 
to  take  hold  of  when  the  cause  undermines  the 
fairest  heritage  in  life,  our  homes.  For,  after 
all,  the  home  is  the  social  unit  and  the  very 
foundation  of  all  government. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  155 


CHAPTER    XI, 
THE  BOSTON  HYPOCRISY. 

Arraignment  of  False  Modesty  That  Deters 

Well-Meaning  People  from  Fighting 

the  White  Slave  Evil. 

By  Clifford  G.  Roe,  Assistant  State's  Attorney 
of  Cook  County,  Illinois. 

None  of  us  is  perfect.  However,  it  is  well  to 
strive  toward  perfection.  It  is  well  sometimes 
to  look  into  the  glass  and  see  ourselves  as 
others  see  us.  That  is  the  very  thing  Boston 
needs  to  do  at  the  present  time.  Like  the  os- 
trich that  hides  her  head  in  the  sand  and  thinks 
because  she  cannot  see  anyone  no  one  can  see 
her,  Boston  shuts  her  eyes  to  the  social  evil 
problem  and  says  there  is  no  such  thing  here. 

To  learn  whether  or  not  the  White  Slave 
traffic  is  nation  wide,  conditions  in  various 
parts  of  the  country  have  been  studied.  From 
ocean  to  ocean  the  trail  of  this  monster  can  be 
seen.  New  York,  Chicago  and  San  Francisco, 
and  many  other  cities,  realizing  that  there  is  a 
trade  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  girls,  are  mak- 
ing determined  efforts  to  blot  it  out.  They 
acknowledge  its  presence  and  they  are  fightini^ 
it.  In  New  England  it  is  different.  The  good 
people  there  shun  the  thought  of  such  a  sub- 


156  WAR  ON  THE 

ject.  They  have  not  learned  that  false  mod- 
esty is  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  the  time  has 
come  when  we  must  know  the  social  evil  prob- 
lem as  it  is  and  meet  it  face  to  face. 

In  talking  with  one  of  the  leading  workers 
for  the  betterment  of  Boston  the  above  title 
was  suggested,  for  he  said:  "The  attitude  of 
the  people  here  regarding  social  evil  is  plain 
Boston  hyprocisy."  The  idea  is  to  hide  the 
evil,  if  it  is  there.  In  this  beautiful  city  there 
is  not  a  well-defined  red  light  district  or  levee 
as  the  houses  of  ill-fame  are  scattered  through- 
out the  city,  often  side  by  side  with  fine  private 
residences.  Here  and  there  is  a  district  where 
perhaps  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  disorderly 
houses  are  located. 

An  idea  of  the  volume  of  the  vice  business 
in  Boston  may  be  estimated  from  one  day  in 
June  when  an  observer  counted  130  men  who 
entered  a  resort  on  Corning  street  between  the 
hours  of  seven  and  twelve  in  the  evening. 

A  well-defined  White  Slave  trade  is  difficult 
to  discover  in  a  short  time  in  any  city.  Citizens 
of  Boston  have  not  yet  unearthed  it.  They 
say  it  is  not  there.  They  tell  of  an  isolated 
case  which  happened  a  long  time  ago.  Boston 
and  other  New  England  cities  have  all  the  ele- 
ments which  make  a  traffic  in  girls  quite  cer- 
tain. By  going  to  the  very  bottom  and  getting 
information  from  those  "who  know"  the  busi- 
ness from  the  ground  up,  who  live  in  it,  and 
work  in  it,  some  very  reliable  facts  have  been 
gathered. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  157 

Walking  down  Washington,  Tremont  or 
Boylston  streets  in  Boston  at  night,  from  say 
eight  until  ten  o'clock,  scores  of  girls  are  seen 
picking  up  fellows.  Some  are  professionals, 
while  others  flirt  just  to  have  a  good  time, 
probably.  In  Providence,  R.  I.,  where  Miss 
Margaret  H.  Dennehy  has  revealed  a  White 
Slave  traffic,  conditions  are  just  as  bad  in  re- 
gard to  girls  publicly  displaying  themselves  as 
in  Boston.  This  is  the  first  symptom  of  some- 
thing wrong  which  any  visitor  cannot  help  but 
see.  Now  let  us  look  about  the  city  a  little  and 
see  what  we  can  find.  In  Hayward  place,  one- 
half  block  from  Washington  street,  the  main 
shopping  street  of  Boston,  under  the  very  nose 
of  one  of  the  largest  retail  stores,   are  the 

H and  the  E ,  two  places  such  as 

would  only  be  tolerated  in  the  lowest  red  light 
district  of  any  city.  Girls,  and  many  young 
girls,  too,  sit  at  the  tables  and  solicit  men.  On 
Beach  street,  one-half  block  from  Washington 

street,  is  the  D ,  a  similar  place,  owned 

by  a  Frenchman.    The  P G on 

Sudbery  street  is  much  worse  than  any  of  the 
others.  The  first  three  are  within  two  blocks 
of  Boylston  and  Washington  streets,  the  prin- 
cipal corner  in  Boston. 

One  has  but  to  pick  up  the  telephone  book 
and  find  the  numbers  there  of  at  least  two  hun- 
dred houses  of  ill-repute.  Chicago,  one  of  the 
acknowledged  centers  of  vice,  does  not  tolerate 
that;  nor  can  you  find  such  places  in  the  prin- 
cipal shopping  districts  of  Chicago  as  those  I 


158  WAR  ON  THE 

refer  to  in  the  above  paragraph.  .One  of  the 
most  glaring  examples  of  disorderly  places — 
which  the  good  citizens  there  overlooked — in 

the  business  district  is  the  B house  of 

prostitution  on  Bulfinch  street,  almost  within 
a  stone's  throw  of  the  State  House  and  Capitol 
of  Massachusetts. 

Taking  the  biography  of  one  hundred  girls 
in  disreputable  houses  at  random,  it  was 
learned  that  about  one-third  come  to  Boston 
from  Canada,  mainly  Nova  Scotia. 

To  one  who  has  made  a  study  of  the  White 
Slave  traffic  the  first  question  when  one  finds 
so  many  disorderly  places  is,  where  do  they 
get  the  girls  from?  Why  do  so  many  come 
from  one  locality?  Is  the  supply  equal  to  the 
demand?  Are  there  enough  persons  entering 
into  such  a  life  voluntarily  each  year  to  keep 
the  places  going?  The  average  life  of  one  of 
these  girls  is  about  five  years,  according  to  the 
best  statistics. 

Boston  and  the  other  New  England  cities 
have  the  "cadet  system" — meaning  men  and 
boys  living  from  the  earnings  of  girls  engaged 
in  this  unlawful  business.  Most  "cadets"  pro- 
cure girls — and  that  is  the  question  for  New 
England  to  solve. 

Are  the  "cadets"  there  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  trading  in  girls?  It  is  said  that  a  cer- 
tain Bobbie  B ,  a  well  known  "cadet"  in 

Boston,  procured  about  seventy  girls  to  be  sent 

to  Panama.  A  certain  Lena  D ,  who  was 

born  in  Quebec,  is  known  to  be  procuring  girls 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  159 

from  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  the  country  districts, 
for  a  fast  life  in  Boston.  She  perhaps  is  the 
greatest  woman  trader  in  human  souls  in  New 
England.  According  to  her  own  statement 
she  "trains  them  to  be  wise."  This  woman 
once  worked  in  Lowell  in  a  shoe  factory.  The 
French,  Jewish  and  Italian  procurers  are  not 
so  much  in  evidence  in  New  England  as  in 
other  American  cities.  The  coast  "cadets" 
there  are  mainly  Canadians. 

A  new  way  of  procuring  girls  has  developed 
in  Boston.  Wayward  girls  who  have  offended 
the  law  in  one  way  or  another  are  placed  on 
probation.  The  "cadets"  go  to  the  court  re- 
cords, find  the  girls'  names  who  are  on  proba- 
tion and  persuade  them  to  run  away  in  order 
to  evade  probation  and  to  secure  freedom  from 
the  probation  officers.  There  are  instances 
where  these  girls  have  been  sent  into  houses  of 
bad  character  at  Lowell,  Portland,  Worcester, 
the  road  house  at  Corderville,  and  other  towns. 

While  the  White  Slave  trade  may  not  be  as 
well  developed  in  New  England  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  country — to  a  certain  extent  it  is 
there;  and  it  is  only  to  awaken  the  people  to  a 
realization  of  this  fact  that  this  article  is  writ- 
ten. Over  two  and  a  half  years  ago  Chicago 
was  told  that  there  was  a  White  Slave  traffic, 
and  the  people  were  indignant.  It  seemed  ro- 
mantic and  unbelievable.  But  Chicago  knows 
it  only  too  well  today.  Boston  must  be  awak- 
ened in  the  same  way.  People  will  say  it  can- 
not be  true.    Indeed,  it  is  hard  to  find  because 


i6o  WAR  ON  THE 

secrecy  is  its  success.  It  keeps  hidden  in  the 
darkness.  Someone  in  Boston  will  drag  it  out 
into  the  light,  and  we  stand  ready  to  aid  in  any 
way  we  can.  White  Slavery  is  the  system  of 
making  good  girls  bad  or  bad  girls  worse. 
It  is  the  modem  method  of  men  living  from 
the  loathsome  earnings  of  disreputable  women. 

Let  me  tell  you  of  a  twenty-one-year-old  girl 
in  Boston.  She  was  born  in  New  York  City. 
Her  father  is  dead  and  her  mother  is  an  actress. 
She  is  pretty  and  well  educated.  This  girl,  by 
living  a  disreputable  life,  supports  a  Jewish 
"cadet"  who  is  coarse  and  vulgar,  and  who 
beats  her  when  she  fails  to  bring  back  to  him 
as  much  money  as  he  desires. 

Many  of  the  girls  come  from  or  go  to  Wash- 
ington. There  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  an  under- 
ground roadway  between  Boston  and  Wash- 
ington which  many  of  these  girls  travel.  Hun- 
dreds of  these  girls  do  not  live  in  the  disorder- 
ly houses,  but  have  their  own  apartments,  and 
are  summoned  to  the  houses  by  telephone.  The 
houses  to  which  they  are  thus  summoned  are 
known  as  "call  houses."  At  these  houses  des- 
criptions of  the  various  girls  are  kept,  as  to 
height,  complexion,  etc.  In  examining  the 
laws  of  Massachusetts  relating  to  procuring, 
we  find  the  same  flaws  which  existed  in  Illinois 
and  the  other  states  before  the  passage  of  the 
pandering  laws. 

In  the  revised  laws  of  Massachusetts,  1902, 
Vol.  2,  page  1785,  Sec.  2,  the  procuring  must  be 
fraudulent  and  deceitful  and  the  woman  must 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  i6i 

be  unmarried  and  of  chaste  life.  If  the  pro- 
curer marries  the  girl  to  circumvent  the  law 
he  cannot  be  prosecuted;  if  the  girl  makes  one 
mistake  in  life,  she  cannot  be  protected  from 
being  procured.  In  many  cities  the  evidence 
in  the  cases  shows  that  "cadets"  are  paid  to 
marry  girls  by  White  Slave  traders  so  that 
prosecution  may  be  avoided  and  they  may  thus 
crawl  through  one  of  the  many  loopholes  in 
moss-covered  laws  made  before  pandering  be- 
came a  curse  upon  civilization.  Because  a  girl 
is  not  of  chaste  life  is  no  reason  she  wants  to 
become  a  prostitute.  One  wrong  step  and  she 
is  no  longer  chaste,  and  then  we  say,  accord- 
ing to  the  law,  let  her  shift  for  herself.  We 
all  make  mistakes,  so  let  us  be  charitable.  The 
words  "previous  chaste  life"  should  be  erased 
from  the  law  and  all  female  persons  should  be 
protected  from  the  traders. 

There  are  four  ways  of  combating  the  White 
Slave  evil;  proper  laws  regulating  the  procur- 
ing of  girls;  the  enforcement  of  these  law;  ed- 
ucation as  to  this  great  social  evil,  and  pub- 
licity— that  is,  finding  the  evil  and  then  mak- 
ing it  known.  Let  New  England  awaken  and 
look  about  her  and  she  will  catch  the  true 
spirit  of  this  article,  which  is  meant  to  be  one 
of  helpfulness  and  written  only  with  kindest 
motives.  Embellished  with  quaint  landmarks 
and  historical  retreats  dear  to  all  the  nation 
and  beautiful  in  its  past,  let  it  not  live  in  this 
past  alone,  but  be  alive  to  modern  ideas  and 
agencies.    There  is  one  society  known  as  the 


i62  WAR  ON  THE 

New  England  Watch  and  Ward,  with  head- 
quarters in  Boston,  which  has  begun  to  pierce 
into  the  hidden  mystery  of  the  traffic  in  girls. 
It  is  managed  by  able  men,  and  its  secretary, 
J.  Frank  Chase,  is  already  on  the  trail  of  the 
White  Slave  monster.  Through  this  society 
great  efforts  will  be  made  no  doubt  in  the  near 
future  to  eliminate  whatever  exists  of  this  ne- 
farious traffic  in  Boston.  Let  us  hope  the  Bos- 
ton people  will  meet  this  problem  fearlessly, 
candidly  and  honestly,  and  when  they  do  they 
will  have  gone  a  long  way  toward  stamping  out 
the  worst  evil  of  the  age. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  163 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  AUCTIONEER  OF  SOULS. 

By  Clifford  G.  Roe,  Assistant  State's  Attor- 
ney of  Cook  County,  Illinois. 

"Hear  ye!  Hear  ye!  How  much  will  ye  give 
for  a  human  being — body  and  soul?" 

"What  is  the  soul  worth?" 

"Nothing,"  cried  the  auctioneer,  "I  throw 
that  in  with  the  sale  of  the  body." 

That  is  the  value  the  White  Slave  traders 
place  upon  the  soul  of  a  girl  when  she  is  auc- 
tioned off  to  the  highest  bidder  for  a  house 
of  ill-repute.  For  a  few  paltry  dollars  to  the 
buyer  of  girls,  not  only  is  the  body  delivered 
to  be  ravished  and  diseased,  but  the  soul  is 
given  over  to  be  tortured  and  depraved.  This  is 
the  price  fathers  and  mothers  are  placing  up- 
on their  daughters'  souls  when  they  think 
more  of  the  money  the  daughter  can  earn  by 
sending  her  away  to  work  without  careful  re- 
gard as  to  where  she  is  going  or  with  whom 
she  is  going  away.  That  is  the  price  that 
false  modesty,  which  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  affected  innocence,  is  placing  upon  hu- 
man beings  when  people  shun  the  thought  of 
White  Slavery,  because  it  has  to  do  with  the 
darker  side  of  life. 


11 


i64  WAR  ON  THE 

Nothing  is  more  beautiful  than  an  innocent 
girl.  Nothing  is  more  hypocritical  than  af- 
fected innocence.  Nothing  is  grander  than  a 
pure  home.  Nothing  is  more  loathsome  than 
the  sham  glare  and  tinsel  of  a  house  of  ill- 
repute.  Knowing  the  human  weakness,  the 
White  Slave  trader  makes  capital  out  of  the 
carelessness  and  ambition  of  the  parents,  and 
the  false  modesty  of  the  public,  and  thereby 
undermines  innocence  and  steals  the  purity 
from  the  home. 

Many  and  various  schemes  are  resorted  to 
by  these  auctioneers  of  souls.  It  is  because 
no  set  rule  for  inveigling  their  captives  away 
from  home  has  been  followed  that  they  have 
succeeding  so  long  in  baffling  detection. 

The  question  of  white  slavery  is  economic 
as  well  as  social.  The  condition  of  the  work- 
ing girl,  the  low  salaries  paid  by  employers, 
the  desire  for  better  clothes,  and  the  great  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  girls  earning  a  liveli- 
hood contribute  their  share  to  the  downfall 
of  girls.  All  of  these  things  are  considered  by 
the  crafty  trader  who  procures  the  girl  to  be 
auctioned  into  a  life  of  slavery.  Then,  too, 
the  confidence  of  the  girl  is  gained  by  arous- 
ing her  ambition  or  love.  This  is  done  by  ap- 
pealing to  her  vanity,  by  referring  to  her  abil- 
ity or  her  beauty. 

True  it  is  that  some  girls  go  willingly  to 
^e  block  to  be  auctioned  into  a  disreputable 
life,  only  to  find  later  their  terrible  mistake. 
The  system  of  making  bad  girls  worse  is  just 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  165 

as  vicious  as  making  good  girls  bad  and  all 
this  is  white  slavery. 

The  most  worked  method  of  securing  the 
confidence  by  appealing  to  the  ambition  of 
the  girl  is  by  the  stage  or  theatrical  route.  It 
is  because  so  many  girls  are  "stage  struck" 
now-a-days  that  this  method  has  been  worked 
most  successfully.  Perhaps  of  all  the  cases 
that  have  been  tried  in  nearly  the  last  three 
years  in  Chicago,  the  girls  who  have  been 
procured  by  inducements  to  go  upon  the  stage 
outnumber  all  others.  The  slave  trader  rep- 
resents himself  as  the  agent  of  some  theatric- 
al manager,  or  perhaps  as  the  manager  him- 
self. Going  to  a  factory  town,  for  example, 
he  makes  it  his  business  to  meet  some  girl 
who  is  working  there  who  he  has  learned  is 
"stage  struck."  After  the  formalities  of  an 
introduction,  which  he  secures  in  one  way  or 
another,  he  leads  up  to  the  subject  by  telling 
that  he  is  a  theatrical  man  and  is  looking  for 
new  recruits. 

The  girl  is  at  once  interested.  She  is  nat- 
urally ambitious.  She  wants  to  better  her 
condition  in  life.  She  doesn't  suspect  that  a 
fiend  with  the  heart  of  a  devil  is  masquerad- 
ing before  her  as  the  agent  of  some  theatrical 
manager.  He  explains  to  her  that  if  she  will 
accompany  him  she  can  make  from  $15  to  $20 
a  week  at  the  very  start  and  in  a  year  she  will 
be  playing  a  part,  and  a  year  or  so  later  she 
will  possibly  be  leading  lady.  The  picture  is 
an  alluring  one  to  this  young  girl,  for  she  is 


i66  WAR  ON  THE 

now  making  only  perhaps  $4,  $5  or  $6  a  week, 
and  the  thought  of  securing  such  a  large  sal- 
ary at  the  very  start  almost  sweeps  her  off 
her  feet.  She  is  entranced  by  the  beautiful 
picture  that  has  been  painted  and  she  goes, 
perhaps  to  a  stage  from  which  she  will  never 
return. 

The  trader  often  has  the  impudence  and 
nerve  to  interview  the  parents  of  the  girl  and 
obtain  their  consent,  knowing  that  he  is  hid- 
ing behind  some  fictitious  name,  with  little 
possibility  of  ever  being  apprehended.  This 
was  true  in  the  case  of  a  certain  cadet  who 
brought  a  little  girl  from  Duluth,  Minn.  The 
girl  was  17  years  old.  The  parents  gave  their 
consent,  thinking  that  through  the  girl's  life 
upon  the  stage  their  position  in  life  would  be 
raised,  and  they  sent  the  little  girl  on  to  Chi- 
cago with  this  man,  bidding  her  "God-speed." 
The  testimony  in  this  case  showed  that  under 
compulsion  she  wrote  several  letters  to  her 
parents,  telling  of  her  initial  stage  success, 
while  the  truth  was  that  this  man  was  a  pro- 
curer and  collecting  toll  upon  the  loathsome 
earnings  of  this  girl,  who  was  compelled  by 
him  to  lead  a  disreputable  life.  He  was  con- 
victed under  the  law  for  bringing  a  girl  into 
the  State  under  the  age  of  18  for  immoral 
purposes  and  was  sentenced  to  three  years, 
and  the  girl  was  returned  to  the  home  of  her 
parents. 

This  only  serves  as  an  illustration  of  how 
easy  it  is  to  appeal  to  the  girl's  ambition;  yes, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  167 

even  to  that  of  a  parent,  in  this  nefarious  bus- 
iness of  securing  girls  to  be  auctioned  as  white 
slaves. 

Cases  have  been  brought  to  light  and  facts 
uncovered,  where  even  disreputable  theatrical 
agents  themselves  have  loaned  their  services 
to  the  white  slave  system.  A  case  recent 
enough  to  be  vividly  recalled  by  the  people  of 
Illinois  is  that  of  two  young  girls  who  were 
working  in  one  of  the  larger  department 
stores  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  One  day  a  wom- 
an was  at  the  counter  where  one  of  these  girls 
was  selling  goods.  The  woman  complimented 
the  beauty  of  the  girl,  at  once  appealing  to 
her  vanity,  and  asked  her  how  she  would  like 
to  go  upon  the  stage.     The  girl,  who  was 

Evelyn   K ,   was   overjoyed   at   the   very 

thought,  for  only  a  few  nights  before  she  had 

been  talking  with  her  chum,  Ida  P ,  about 

becoming  an  actress.  The  bait  that  the  wom- 
an had  cast  was  readily  grabbed  at.  The 
woman  gave  Evelyn  a  card  with  the  address 
of  a  certain  theatrical  agent  on  it  and  in- 
structed the  girl  to  call  there  at  a  certain  time. 
This  she  did,  accompanied  by  her  friend,  Ida. 
Arrangements  were  made  and  tickets  pro- 
cured, and  the  girls  were  soon  on  their  way 
to  Springfield,  111.,  headed  for  a  disreputable 
resort,  as  the  evidence  in  the  case  afterwards 
showed.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  interference 
of  a  good  Scotch  lady,  into  whose  house  these 
girls  had  gone  for  lodging  before  making 
Siemselves  known  to  their  new  employers,  they 


i6iB  WAR  ON  THE 

would  have  been  cast  into  a  life  far  different 
from  that  which  they  had  anticipated.  The 
Scotch  lady,  learning  their  destination  and 
knowing  the  reputation  of  the  resort  to  which 
these  girls  had  been  sent,  warned  them  of  the 
danger  they  were  in,  and  aided  in  sending  them 
back  to  Chicago, 

While  the  case  against  this  theatrical  agent 
was  pending,  these  girls,  who  were  waiting  to 
testify,  were  taken  out  of  the  city  and  secreted 
in  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  where  after  several 
weeks'  hunt  they  were  finally  found  and 
brought  back  to  Chicago,  and  afterwards  tes- 
tified in  the  court  to  the  foregoing  facts. 

There  are  many  other  instances  of  girls  be- 
ing brought  to  the  city  or  taken  from  the  city 
upon  the  pretext  of  becoming  embryo  actresses. 
In  the  case  of  a  certain  ex-prize  fighter,  who 
was  arrested  during  a  raid  upon  one  of  the 
strongholds  of  white  slavery,  the  evidence  was 
brought  to  light  that  he  and  another  young 
man  procured  a  consignment  of  girls  in  the 
City  of  Chicago,  presumably  to  take  them  out 
with  a  southern  musical  comedy  road  com- 
pany. These  girls  were  sent  South  in  com- 
pany with  a  certain  Myrtle  B ,  and  they 

ended  up  in  a  resort  at  Beaumont,  Texas. 
Many  other  cases  might  be  cited  to  illustrate 
how  easy  it  is  to  secure  girls  to  come  to  the 
city  or  leave  the  city  under  the  guise  of  put- 
ting them  upon  the  stage.  Let  it  be  under- 
stood, however,  that  in  all  of  the  cases  tried 
nothing  has  ever  been  hinted  at  that  would 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  169 

involve  any  reputable  theatrical  manager  or 
agency,  and  the  procurers  have  never  been 
really  associated  with  theatrical  managers  in 
any  way,  but  have  always  falsely  paraded  un- 
der the  theatrical  mask. 

Almost  all  positions  alluring  to  young  girls 
have  been  used  to  catch  them  in  the  great  net 
these  procurers  have  set  for  them.  We  can't 
blame  the  girls  for  being  ambitious.  We  can't 
blame  them  for  wanting  to  better  their  con- 
dition in  life,  and  we  can't  blame  them 
for  falling  prey  to  the  white  slave 
monster,  with  its  tentacles  spread  throughout 
the  country  ready  at  every  possible  chance  to 
clutch  them  within  its  grasp.  We  can  only 
warn  them  to  be  more  cautious,  to  investigate 
carefully  before  going  away  from  home  with 
people  they  do  not  know.  Fathers  and  moth- 
ers are  too  negligent  in  this  regard,  and 
through  their  laxity  and  carelessness  they  have 
allowed  their  daughters  to  be  entrapped.  They 
should  see  to  it  that  the  girls,  in  going  to  the 
cities,  are  surrounded  by  honest  and  reputable 
acquaintances.  In  one  case  they  contributed 
directly  to  the  procuring  of  their  daughters  by 
not  writing  a  letter  to  them  as  they  had  prom- 
ised. The  girls  who  had  gone  to  the  post- 
office,  turning  away  from  the  window  down- 
cast and  disheartened,  were  approached  by  a 
young  man  who  had  noted  their  sad  faces.  He 
said  to  them:  "You  appear  to  be  in  trouble." 
One  answered,  "Yes,  we  expected  a  letter 
from  home  with  some  money,  but  we  did  not 


170  WAR  ON  THE 

receive  it.  We  have  been  here  only  two  days 
and  are  without  funds  until  we  receive  this 
letter.  We  did  not  get  the  positions  we  ex- 
pected to  get  and  until  we  find  work  we  have 
no  place  to  stay." 

The  young  man  volunteered  to  find  them 
work.  They  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a 
procurer,  ever  on  the  watch,  and  were  sold  in- 
to a  disorderly  house  before  they  knew  it, 
thinking  it  was  at  this  place  they  were  to  ob- 
tain work.  When  the  facts  in  this  case  were 
brought  to  light,  the  procurer  had  fled  to  New 
York  City.  Through  funds  advanced  by  one 
of  the  leading  clubs  of  Chicago  and  some  big 
hearted  police  officers  the  procurer  was  ap- 
prehended, extradicted,  brought  back,  tried 
and  convicted. 

Through  the  other  well  known  method  th< 
procurer,  by  pretending  to  be  in  love  with  hia 
victim,  appeals  to  her  vanity  and  is  often  suc- 
cessful. Pretending  that  it  is  love  at  first  sight 
and  showering  flattery  upon  the  girls  they 
succeed  in  winning  confidence  and  hearts  by 
the  easiest  method  in  the  world. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1907,  Mona  M , 

while  working  at  the  ribbon  counter  of  one  of 
the  Chicago  stores,  fell  in  love  with  handsome 

Harry  B on  sight.    After  an  acquaintance 

of  three  days  she  was  willing  to  go  away  with 
him  to  be  married.  It  was  the  sale  of  this  girl 
into  a  disreputable  house  and  her  final  escape 
that  led  to  the  unearthing  of  one  of  the  head- 
quarters of  the  white  slave  traders  and  seven 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  171 

of  them  were  arrested  in  one  night,  her  pro- 
curer receiving  the  longest  sentence  of  them 
aU. 

The  little  Elgin  girl  mentioned  in  Chapter 
X,  on  page  142  of  this  book,  was  caught  by 
the  love  method  in  one  day;  and  the  very  re- 
cent case,  in  which  two  procurers  and  the  man 
behind  the  scenes  who  had  hired  them,  the 
white  slave  dealer,  were  all  convicted,  was  an 
example  of  securing  girls  through  pretended 
love.  This,  the  first  case  under  the  amend- 
ment to  the  Pandering  Act  in  Illinois  was 
severely  fought  in  court  by  two  of  the  men. 
One  of  the  procurers  by  the  name  of  Lewis 
B made  a  confession,  telling  how  the  deal- 
er in  human  souls,  had  hired  Jacob  J.  and  him- 
self to  go  about  on  the  streets  and  catch  girls 
to  be  turned  over  to  immoral  resorts.  The 
testimony  in  the  case  in  which  they  were 
found  guilty  will  show  how  successful  they 
were. 

Two  sixteen-year-old  girls,  one  picked  up  by 
a  flirtation  in  one  of  Chicago's  large  summer 
amusement  parks,  were  sold  into  captivity. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  appalling  cases  that 
has  yet  come  to  our  notice.  These  girls  were 
procured  upon  promises  of  marriage  and  a 
trip  to  New  York,  all  of  which  was  fine  and 
grand  to  them. 

So  many  and  varied  are  the  ways  of  procur- 
ing girls  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  tell  all 
of  them.  Employment  agents  have  been  con- 
victed for  sending  girls  out  as  house  servants 


172  WAR  ON  THE 

to  immoral  places  for  the  ultimate  reason  of 
making  them  inmates  in  the  house.  The  pro- 
curers have  masqueraded  as  graphophone 
agents,  as  the  sons  of  bankers,  as  detective 
agents  looking  for  women  detectives  to  work 
for  them,  and  in  a  very  recent  letter  received 
from  a  lady  in  Massachusetts  the  story  is  told 
how  she,  as  a  country  girl,  went  to  certain 
photograph  studios  in  Boston  and  found  that 
this  photographer  was  a  procurer.  In  a  letter 
setting  forth  very  vividly  her  experiences  she 
says:  "There  were  girls  whom  he  had  found 
nice  fellows  for  and  he  would  help  me  to  find 
one  and  a  possible  fine  marriage.  I  did  not 
know  then  that  I  should  have  exposed  him." 
She  tells  of  how  she  eluded  this  man  and  when 
she  saw  him  on  the  streets  afterwards  in  Bos- 
ton she  would  hurry  into  a  store  or  a  hallway 
and  hide  from  him.  She  says:  *T  found  after- 
wards that  was  really  his  business,  introducing 
girls  that  he  met  in  a  business  way  in  differ- 
ent studios  and  other  places." 

Through  information  received  from  letters 
and  many  other  ways,  we  are  constantly  on 
the  lookout  for  the  procurer.  One  said  in  a  con- 
fession :  "We  use  any  method  to  get  them.  Our 
business  is  to  land  them  and  we  don't  care  how 
we  do  it.  If  they  look  easy  we  tell  them  of 
the  fine  clothes,  the  diamonds  and  all  the 
money  that  they  can  have.  If  they  are  hard  to 
get  we  use  knock-out  drops."  His  words  ex- 
press the  whole  idea  of  the  girl  auctioneer, 
"any  way  to  get  them  for  sale." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  173 

Schools  for  manicuring,  houses  for  vapor 
and  electric  baths,  large  steamboats  running 
between  the  city  and  summer  resorts,  amuse- 
ment parks,  the  nickel  theaters,  the  waiting 
rooms  in  the  depots  and  stores  are  all  haunts 
and  procuring  places  for  the  white  slave  trad- 
er. A  Chicago  girl  only  a  short  time  ago 
wrote  to  one  of  the  daily  papers  of  her  exper- 
iences on  a  steamboat  going  out  of  Chicago 
and  at  one  of  the  nearby  summer  resorts. 

Girls,  look  out  for  the  pitfalls.  Mothers  and 
fathers,  you  can't  afford  to  let  your  young 
daughters  leave  home  with  strangers  unless 
you  want  to  send  them  to  ruin.  You  are  un- 
wittingly thereby  aiding  the  while  slave  trad- 
ers and  aiding  in  your  daughters'  downfall. 
Train  the  daughters  right  at  home,  watch 
over  them,  and  protect  them  and  know  where 
they  are  going  and  with  whom  they  are  going 
away.  They  are  worthy  of  your  greatest  and 
kindest  consideration.  Do  not  be  too  anxious 
to  make  money,  or  for  higher  position  in  the 
social  life  at  the  expense  of  your  daughter.  Do 
not  be  over  ready  to  cast  off  the  burden  of 
supporting  your  family  by  sending  your 
daughter  out  to  learn  a  livelihood  at  an  early 
age,  lest  the  price  you  get  be  the  price  of  a 
soul. 


174  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE   IN   NEW 
YORK  CITY. 

There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  the  well  informed  that  there  exists  a  great 
white  slave  trade  in  the  City  of  New  York.  In 
a  recent  report  by  General  Bingham,  police 
commissioner,  he  said:  "This  traffic  is  found 
to  be  of  very  large  dimensions.  There  seems 
to  be  very  slight  difficulty  in  getting  women 
into  the  country.  The  requirements  of  the 
immigration  authorities  are  easily  met  by  vari- 
ous simple  subterfuges.  The  men  who  own 
these  women  are  of  the  lowest  class  and  seem 
to  have  an  organization  or  at  least  an  under- 
standing, which  is  national  or  even  interna- 
tional in  scope.  We  cannot  get  these  men. 
If  we  could  the  whole  white  slave  trade  would 
drop  and  the  whole  social  evil  be  intensely 
ameliorated,  because  these  men  work  a  regular 
trust."  In  commenting  on  this  statement  of 
the  police  commissioner,  Mr.  George  Kibbe 
Turner  has  the  following  to  say  in  the  June 
number  of  McClure's  Magazine: 

"If  the  interests  of  the  prostitute  are  excel- 
lently safeguarded  under  the  administration 
of  the  law  by  the  magistrates'  courts,  the  busi- 
ness of  her  political  protector  the  cadet  is  dou- 
bly secure.    At  most  he  is  only  subject  to  a  six 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  175 

months  penalty  as  a  common  vagrant,  but 
practically  speaking  he  can  never  be  arrested 
at  all  because  the  only  valid  evidence  against 
him  must  come  from  the  woman  who  supports 
him,  who  neither  desires  nor  dares  to  protest 
against  him.  There  are  thousands  of  these 
men  in  New  York  City  and  their  convictions 
do  not  reach  a  score  a  year.  To  this  might  be 
added  that  no  local  authority  ever  got  these 
men  and  that  the  only  successful  prosecution 
of  them  and  the  only  one  they  feared,  has  been 
that  started  by  the  federal  authorities  in  Chi- 
cago and  New  York  during  the  past  two  years. 
The  local  politician  has  as  yet  no  influence 
with  federal  courts  in  favor  of  prostitution. 
He  delivers  no  important  part  of  the  votes  that 
choose  the  federal  authorities." 

General  Bingham  in  an  article  in  Hampton's 
Magazine  for  September,  1909,  says  that  he 
might  have  accepted  bribes  during  his  first 
year  in  office,  from  gamblers,  dive  keepers  and 
other  criminals,  amounting  to  $600,000  or  even 
a  million  dollars.  He  thinks  that  the  graft 
and  blackmail  of  New  York  City  amount  per- 
haps to  a  hundred  million  dollars  a  year.  He 
asks  the  question.  Who  receives  the  graft? 
and  answers :  "Patrolmen,  police  captains  and 
inspectors,  employees  in  city  offices,  city  of- 
ficials, politicians,  high  and  low  share  in  it. 
But  while  the  uniformed  policeman  is  getting 
tens  or  hundreds  of  dollars  for  'protecting'  a 
brothel,  drinking  or  gambling  resort,  the  city 
officials  and  politicians  are  getting  their  thou- 


176  WAR  ON  THE 

sands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  through 
graft-yielding  contracts  and  franchises,  in  cash 
carefully  conveyed,  or  in  other  emoluments 
rendered  them  in  every  case  for  betraying  the 
public." 

In  the  report  of  the  Commission  of  Immi- 
gration of  the  State  of  New  York,  a  commis- 
sion created  by  the  legislature  of  New  York  in 
1908,  the  following  statement  is  to  be  found 
regarding  the  white  slave  business  in  this 
State: 

"In  the  State  of  New  York,  as  in  other  states 
and  countries  of  the  world,  there  are  organized, 
ramified  and  well-equipped  associations  to  se- 
cure girls  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution.  The 
recruiting  of  such  girls  in  this  country  is  large- 
ly among  those  who  are  poor,  ignorant  or 
friendless.  The  attention  of  the  Commission 
has  been  called  to  one  organization  incorpor- 
ated under  the  laws  of  New  York  State  as  a 
mutual  benefit  society,  with  alleged  purpose, 
*To  promote  the  sentiment  of  regard  and 
friendship  among  the  members  and  to  render 
assistance  in  case  of  necessity.'  This  society  is, 
in  reality,  an  association  of  gamblers,  procurers 
and  keepers  of  disorderly  houses,  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  mutual  protection  in  their 
business.  Some  of  the  cafes,  restaurants  and 
other  places  conducted  by  the  members  are 
meeting  places  for  those  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  importation.  The  organization  includes 
a  membership  of  about  one  hundred  residents 
of  New  York  City,  and  has  representatives  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  ij^ 

correspondents  in  various  cities  of  the  coun- 
try, notably  in  Pittsburg,  Chicago  and  San 
Francisco." 

The  commission  has  not  in  the  report  given 
very  much  of  the  detail  of  the  working  of  this 
Association,  but  Collier's  Weekly  in  speaking 
of  the  dismissal  of  General  Bingham  as  police 
commissioner  of  New  York,  says:  "He  has 
been  police  commissioner  for  three  and  a  half 
years.  Under  his  strong,  rough  hand  the  dis- 
orderly houses  which  flourished  so  prosper- 
ously three  years  ago,  imprisoning  helpless  im- 
migrant women,  have  gone  out  of  business. 
There  were  one  hundred  of  them  running  at 
full  speed  between  23rd  and  69th  Street  and 
6th  and  gth  Avenue.  There  are  scarcely  twen- 
ty now  and  they  are  only  operating  for  old 
time  patrons.  The  stranger  inside  the  city 
walls  will  not  find  the  easy  welcome  for  his 
licentiousness  which  1906  and  1907  could  have 
given  him.  The  profession  of  ruining,  selling, 
and  renting  out  girls  has  been  reduced.  That 
organization  known  as  the  New  York  Inde- 
pendent Benevolent  Association  has  had  its 
wings  clipped.  The  gentlemen  who  run  this 
association  have  been  checked  from  their  vile 
trade  by  the  strict  regime  of  Bingham.  For 
two  years  they  have  had  to  turn  to  honest  or 
semi-honest  professions  instead  of  squeezing 
blood  money  out  of  little  foreign  girls,  raped 
by  their  agents  and  locked  up  in  their  chain  of 
disorderly  houses  in  the  old  and  new  Tender- 
loin.   They  have  almost  forgotten  the  dark 

12 


178  War  on  the 

tragedies  hidden  just  a  fathom  underground 
in  their  burial  lot  in  Washington  Cemetery — 
the  poor  murdered  women,  the  infants  one 
span  long." 

While  the  immigration  report  and  Collier's 
Weekly  enter  into  little  detail  concerning  the 
ramifications  of  this  Association,  it  is  not  be- 
cause they  have  no  further  information  regard- 
ing it,  but  because  many  of  the  details  are  so 
vile  they  could  not  be  written. 

It  can  be  said,  however,  that  the  126  mem- 
bers of  this  Association  have  operated  in  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Philadelphia,  in  Pittsburg,  in  Chi- 
cago, St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  San  Francisco 
and  other  cities,  that  they  have  plied  their 
trade  in  South  Africa,  in  Panama,  and  that 
different  members  of  the  Association  have 
made  repeated  trips  to  Europe.  This  society 
has  been  in  existence  since  1896.  In  every 
large  city  in  which  an  expose  of  the  disorderly 
house  element  of  the  white  slave  traffic  has 
been  made,  some  of  the  members  of  that  Asso- 
ciation have  been  involved.  At  the  present 
moment  the  graft  investigation  is  going  on  in 
Chicago;  one  of  the  principal  men  indicted  is 
Mike  the  Pike,  who  is  well  known  in  Philadel- 
phia and  New  York.  Some  years  ago  Mike 
was  a  prominent  member  of  the  organization 
but  quarreled  with  the  officers  and  was  ex- 
pelled. Keller  and  Ullman,  sent  to  prison  by 
the  federal  authorities  in  Chicago  for  traffick- 
ing in  white  slaves,  were  members  of  this  As- 
sociation at  the  time  of  their  conviction  by 


CIS 
a;  O 


^43 


4>    (U 

en  Vi 

in  a  . 
,0  rt  '^ii 


<W  ei  <u  I- 


bo      2 
^  c  3 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  179 

the  government.  Several  others  indicted 
but  never  brought  to  trial  were  also  members. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  cleaning  out  of  the 
disorderly  elements  in  Philadelphia  many 
members  of  this  Association  were  driven  out. 
Some  of  them  went  to  New  York,  some  to 
Newark.  They  plied  their  business  in  Newark 
for  two  or  three  years  and  when  conditions 
became  so  bad  that  the  public  rose  in  protest 
and  started  a  movement  to  clean  out  the  dens 
of  vice,  it  was  the  members  of  this  association 
who  stood  together  and  fought  the  authorities. 
However,  some  of  their  members  were  con- 
victed and  sent  to  prison.  The  chief  of  police 
and  other  officials  were  accused  of  having  some 
partnership  with  these  men  and  of  levying 
graft  upon  them,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the 
evidence  in  the  present  Chicago  graft  proceed- 
ings alleges.  The  then  chief  of  police  in  New- 
ark, who  was  alleged  to  have  been  one  of  the 
men  who  received  money  from  these  men,  went 
out  into  one  of  the  lonely  byroads  outside  of 
the  city  and  committed  suicide  by  shooting 
himself. 

It  has  been  said  that  some  of  these  men  were 
in  South  Africa,  and  it  is  an  established  fact 
that  many  of  them  went  there  and  opened  up 
houses  of  prostitution  but  were  finally  expelled 
from  the  country  by  the  British  Government. 
Some  of  them  went  to  Panama  (not  in  the 
Canal  Zone)  and  opened  houses  there,  and 
some  of  them  at  the  present  time  are  still  do- 
ing business  there. 

la 


j8o  war  on  the 

Collier's  Weekly  has  mentioned  the  ceme- 
tery owned  by  these  men.  It  is  quite  a  large 
section  of  what  is  known  as  the  Washington 
Cemetery.  Some  of  the  women  buried  there, 
all  of  them  foreigners,  were  murdered.  One 
of  them  was  found,  the  body  covered 
with  bruises  and  blood,  and  an  iron  bar  about 
1 8  inches  long  covered  with  blood  was  found 
near  her  body.  Two  others  were  strangled  to 
death;  another  was  found  in  an  unconscious 
condition.  A  criminal  operation  had  been  per- 
formed which  had  not  been  successful.  Several 
had  died  as  the  result  of  venereal  disease. 
Some  of  the  men  died  violent  deaths;  one  was 
stabbed  and  died  of  blood  poisoning.  Another 
had  his  neck  broken.  The  ages  of  the  women 
varied,  some  were  22,  23,  24  and  25  years  of 
age.  Few  of  them  were  more  than  that. 
Fifteen  babies  are  buried  here,  most  of  them 
only  a  few  months  old.  In  two  cases  coroner's 
inquests  were  held. 

In  the  cafes  frequented  by  these  men  and 
owned  by  them,  one  hears  the  vice  question  in 
its  relation  to  the  whole  country  discussed. 
The  Chicago  graft  investigation  is  being  dis- 
cussed now  and  many  guesses  are  made  as  to 
whether  Mike  really  got  the  money  or  whether 
somebody  put  up  a  job  on  him,  anyhow  they 
all  feel  that  Mike  has  distinguished  himself 
by  being  so  prominently  connected  with  thf 
men  higher  up. 

The  Association,  unlike  the  French  syndii^ 
Gate,  imports  very  few  women.     They  prer 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  i8i 

mostly  on  the  ignorant  immigrants  who  are 
already  in  this  country  in  such  large  numbers. 
They  are  successful  in  securing  nearly  all  the 
women  they  need  in  the  large  foreign  centers 
here  and  are  thus  not  under  the  necessity  of 
paying  the  passage  money  of  their  victims  to 
this  country,  but  they  do  import  some.  Many 
of  the  members  of  this  association  are  wealthy 
men.  They  own  fine  houses,  automobiles,  and 
some  of  them  are  credited  with  a  great  deal 
of  political  influence.  When  trouble  comes  to 
one  of  the  members  the  record  of  the  society 
is  kept  straight  by  passing  a  resolution  ex- 
pelling the  man  from  the  society.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Association  goes  ahead  and  uses  its 
money  and  influence  to  help  the  expelled 
member. 

Most  of  the  members  of  the  Association  come 
from  Russian  Poland  and  Galitzia,  Austria. 
Very  many  of  the  women  in  their  houses  come 
from  the  same  countries.  It  is  interesting  at 
this  point  to  note  that  a  prominent  paper  in 
Warsaw  claims  that  they  have  discovered  a 
white  slave  society  which  is  practically  a 
counterpart  of  the  one  in  New  York,  with  the 
difference  that  the  Warsaw  society  exports 
the  women,  whereas  the  New  York  syndicate 
imports  them.  Some  of  the  members  of  the 
New  York  Association  are  ex-criminals,  hav- 
ing been  convicted  in  their  own  country.  Be- 
cause of  the  strictness  of  the  police  in  their  na- 
tive land,  they  have  found  it  advisable  to  come 
to  America.    They  still,  however,  have  con- 


i82  WAR  ON  THE 

nections  with  men  of  their  own  class  in  those 
countries. 

When  word  comes  to  New  York  that  a  cer- 
tain city  or  state  is  wide  open,  some  members 
of  this  sjmdicate  go  to  these  places  and  open 
up  business.  They  either  take  their  women 
along  or  after  settling  in  a  place  send  to  some 
trustworthy  member  and  have  their  women 
brought  on.  Practically  the  only  charge  that 
the  local  authorities  of  New  York  can  bring 
against  these  men  is  that  of  vagrancy  and  no 
magistrate  will  convict  on  a  charge  of  va- 
grancy when  the  alleged  vagrant  can  show 
the  deeds  to  property  worth  $20,000  or  $30,000. 
An  incident  of  this  kind  actually  happened  in 
New  York  three  years  ago. 

The  French  syndicate  as  far  as  is  known, 
is  not  an  incorporated  body  like  the  Jewish  or- 
ganization, but  that  they  have  an  organiza- 
tion is  not  questioned  for  a  moment  by  those 
who  have  investigated  conditions  in  New  York 
City.  The  federal  authorities  have  broken  up 
a  house  which  was  alleged  to  be  the  head- 
quarters of  the  French  "macquereaux."  Most 
of  the  women  deported  by  the  federal  author- 
ities in  New  York  have  been  French  women 
and  most  of  the  men  arrested  in  this  connec- 
tion were  also  found  to  be  of  French  extrac- 
tion. 

The  report  of  the  police  department  for 
1908  shows  that  out  of  fifty-five  applications 
for  warrants  for  alien  prostitutes,  41  were  ar- 
rested, 30  were  ordered  deported,  and  26  were 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  183 

actually  deported.  Seven  cases  are  still 
pending;  four  were  discharged  and  the  others 
left  the  country  or  disappeared.  Out  of  19 
warrants  for  the  arrest  of  the  alien  men,  11 
were  arrested  of  whom  four  were  sent  to  pris- 
on and  ordered  deported  at  the  expiration  of 
their  sentence.  Four  were  discharged;  2  cases 
are  pending  and  one  escaped.  In  most  cases 
the  men  and  women  were  French. 

Owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the  Federal  au- 
thorities, and  co-operation  of  the  police  de- 
partment, the  French  end  of  the  business  re- 
ceived a  severe  blow  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
Out  of  400  French  "macquereaux'*  known  to 
have  women  in  houses,  at  least  300  left  the 
city  when  the  Federal  authorities  began  to  se- 
cure convictions  against  some  of  their  mem- 
bers. However,  the  decision  given  in  the 
Keller-Ullman  case  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
declaring  the  law  which  gave  the  Federal  au- 
thorities power  to  imprison  these  men  for  har- 
boring and  maintaining  women  unconstitu- 
tional, the  Frenchmen  have  taken  heart  and 
are  coming  back  in  increasing  numbers  to  the 
city. 

There  are  many  angles  to  the  white  slave 
business  in  New  York.  Many  women  are  en- 
ticed into  houses  of  ill-fame  by  promises  of 
marriage  and  by  fake  marriages.  The  cadet 
took  a  woman  before  a  crooked  notary  public 
and  went  through  a  form  of  marriage  but 
failed  to  file  the  agreement  thereof,  thereby 
suppressing  the  evidence  of  marriage,  the  pur- 


&84  WAR  ON  THE 

pose  being  to  aid  procurers  who  sometimes 
marry  several  girls  in  their  vile  purposes  of 
compelling  these  unfortunates  to  live  lives 
of  shame,  to  enable  them  to  profit  by  their 
villainy.  The  Commission  of  Immigration 
found  that  this  practice  had  been  largely  sup- 
pressed by  the  new  law  requiring  a  marriage 
license.  These  notaries  now  advise  as  to  the 
best  way  the  law  may  be  circumvented.  As 
an  illustration,  one  notary  agreed  to  perform 
a  real  marriage  between  an  investigator  of  the 
commission  and  a  supposed  Swedish  girl,  and 
to  draw  a  contract  transferring  her  property 
to  the  husband.  The  notary  then  advised  the 
latter  as  to  the  best  manner  in  which  to  make 
the  new  wife  appear  to  have  committed  adul- 
tery so  that  the  husband  might  be  able  to  se- 
cure a  divorce  after  having  secured  the  girl's 
money. 

That  many  of  these  houses  in  New  York 
City  are  run  under  the  guise  of  massage  par- 
lors is  well  known.  Many  of  the  women  in 
these  houses  are  French.  A  paper  is  published 
in  New  York  in  which  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  these  houses  are  advertised.  Inno- 
cent women  are  lured  by  advertisements  for 
operators.  The  publisher  of  this  paper  is  a 
notary  public  and  is  always  willing  to  advise 
his  advertisers  how  to  carry  on  their  immoral 
business.  One  of  the  difficulties  that  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  have  in  putting  a  stop  to  the 
importation  of  these  women  into  the  country 
is  the  fact  that  very  many  of  the  women  who 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  185 

have  been  actually  intended  for  the  disorderly 
houses  are  manifested  to  seemingly  respecta- 
ble people.  These  people,  however,  have  some 
indirect  connection  with  the  business  of  pros- 
stitution.  For  instance,  one  man  has  what 
seems  to  be  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  solid 
business  as  a  manufacturer  of  women's 
clothes.  However,  his  sole  business  is  the  sup- 
plying of  that  clothing  to  the  disorderly  houses 
throughout  the  country.  It  is  said  that  women 
have  come  to  work  in  his  factory  and  have 
been  turned  over,  after  many  glittering  prom- 
ises have  been  made  to  them,  to  some  keeper 
of  a  disorderly  house  who  made  them  inmates 
of  his  establishment.  Some  of  the  women  go 
to  work  in  restaurants  where  members  of  the 
Association  have  some  interest,  and  thus  the 
way  is  made  easy  for  an  introduction  to  the 
woman  with  the  subsequent  result  of  finding 
her  way  into  a  disorderly  resort.  Some  of  the 
procurers  in  New  York  work  through  the  em- 
ployment agencies.  Since  May,  1904,  the  Com- 
missioner of  Licenses  has  revoked  14  licenses 
of  employment  agents  for  sending  girls  to  im- 
moral places  of  whom  9  furnished  immigrants 
chiefly.  Nine  other  licenses  were  revoked  for 
immoral  conduct,  eight  furnished  immigrants 
chiefly.  The  revocation  of  a  license,  however, 
is  not  an  effective  remedy,  since  in  no  case 
have  fines  or  imprisonment  been  imposed  for 
this  violation  of  the  law.  Nine  agents  whose 
licenses  were  revoked  for  this  reason  are  still 
acting  as  employment  agents,  or  as  runners 


i86  WAR  ON  THE 

for  other  emplo5mient  agents.  Investigators 
for  the  federal  authorities  and  also  of  the  State 
Commission  of  Immigration  found  agents  in 
several  sections  of  the  city  who  are  willing  on 
payment  of  an  extra  fee  to  send  girls  to  work 
in  disorderly  houses. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  regarding  some 
of  the  immigrant  homes,  which  are  ostensibly 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  foreign  girls  on 
arrival  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  federal 
authorities  and  the  State  Commission  found 
homes  that  sent  women  to  disorderly  places. 
The  State  Commission  found  one  home  that 
was  willing  upon  a  donation  of  $5.00  to  send 
a  girl  to  work  in  a  disorderly  house.  This  do- 
nation seems  not  to  have  been  recorded  in  the 
books  of  the  home.  Several  other  homes  are 
at  present  under  investigation  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  Immigration  at  Ellis  Island. 

Since  1901  the  Sicilian  or  Southern  Italian 
has  played  quite  a  prominent  part  in  the  great 
traffic  in  women  in  New  York  City.  At  that 
time,  after  his  triumphant  entry  into  the  cor- 
rupt politics  of  the  city,  it  was  estimated  that 
Italians  controlled  from  750  to  1,000  women. 
Gangs  of  Italian  criminals  have  grown  up  in 
New  York  City  as  a  great  asset  of  the  cor- 
rupt political  machines.  Men  like  Paul  Kelly, 
Jimmie  Kelly  and  other  Italians  masquerading 
under  Irish  names  play  a  prominent  part  in 
Tammany  politics,  supplying  "strong  arm" 
men  as  repeaters  in  the  elections,  whom  they 
recruit  from  the  boxing   and   other    athletic 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  187 

clubs  with  which  they  are  affiliated.  Jimmie 
Kelly  manages  one  or  two  high  class  pugil- 
ists, but  around  his  saloon  are  to  be  found 
many  preliminary  boxers.  These  men  cannot 
make  a  living  as  preliminary  boxers  and  must 
depend  on  something  else  to  eke  out  a  liveli- 
hood. Through  their  connection  with  men 
like  Kelly  they  are  given  the  protection  nec- 
essary to  enable  them  to  conduct  immoral  re- 
sorts or  to  keep  women  soliciting  on  the 
streets,  without  interference  from  the  police. 
In  return  for  this  immunity  they  help  Kelly 
deliver  the  illegal  vote  necessary  to  keep  the 
corrupt  Tammany  machine  in  power.  The 
Italian  because  he  is  more  prone  to  crimes  of 
violence  pays  for  his  political  protection  in 
votes,  while  the  Jew  largely  pays  cash.  The 
Italian,  unlike  the  Jew,  very  rarely  puts  wom- 
en of  his  own  race  into  the  awful  life;  there 
are  relatively  very  few  Italian  prostitutes. 
The  Italian  traders  seem  likely  to  displace  the 
French,  as  they  are  kinder  to  the  women  and 
they  adapt  themselves  to  the  political  envi- 
ronment in  a  way  that  the  French  do  not  un- 
derstand. 

We  quote  again  from  Mr.  George  Kibbe 
Turner  in  McClure's  Magazine  for  June, 
1909: 

"The  Jew  makes  the  most  alert  and  intelli- 
gent citizen  of  all  the  great  immigrant  races 
that  have  populated  New  York.  He  was  a 
city  dweller  before  the    hairy    Anglo-Saxon 


i88  WAR  ON  THE 

came  out  of  the  woods;  and  every  fall  the  East 
Side  resolves  itself  into  one  great  clamorous 
political  debating  society. 

"Out  of  the  Bowery  and  Red  Light  districts 
have  come  the  new  development  in  New  York 
politics — the  great  voting  power  of  the  or- 
ganized criminals.  It  was  a  notable  develop- 
ment not  only  for  New  York,  but  for  the  coun- 
try at  large.  And  no  part  of  it  was  more  note- 
worthy than  the  appearance  of  the  Jewish 
dealer  in  women,  a  product  of  New  York  pol- 
itics, who  has  vitiated,  more  than  any  other 
single  agency,  the  moral  life  of  the  great  cities 
of  America  in  the  past  ten  years." 

It  is  absolute  fact  that  corrupt  Jews  are  now 
the  backbone  of  the  loathsome  traffic  in  New 
York  and  Chicago.  The  good  Jews  know  this 
and  feel  keenly  the  unspeakable  shame  of  it. 
The  American  Hebrew  says  in  an  editorial: 

"If  Jews  are  the  chief  sinners,  it  is  appropri- 
ate that  Jews  should  be  the  chief  avengers  of 
the  dishonor  done  to  their  own  people,  and  in 
many  cases  to  their  own  women.  We  feel 
confident  that  unless  something  is  done,  and 
done  quickly,  a  scandal  of  the  most  intense 
character  will  break  forth,  and  only  by  prompt 
action  can  its  worst  effects  be  warded  off 
from  the  fair  name  of  American  Jewry." 

Hon.  Oscar  S.  Straus  wrote  in  his  report  as 
Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  for  1908: 

"It  is  highly  necessary  that  this  diabolical 
traffic,  which  has  attained  international  pro- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  189 

portions,  should  be  dealt  with  in  a  manner  ade- 
quate to  compass  its  suppression.  No  pun- 
ishment is  too  severe  to  inflict  upon  the  pro- 
curers in  this  vile  traffic." 

B.  C. 


igo  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

BARRED  WINDOWS:    HOW  WE  TOOK 

UP  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  WHITE 

SLAVES. 

This  afternoon,  August  26,  1909,  between 
half  past  two  and  half  past  three  o'clock,  Mr. 
Ralph  Radnor  Earle  took  photographs  of 
various  places  in  Chicago's  principal  vice  dis- 
trict. Among  these  were  several  photographs 
of  barred  windows  of  resorts,  positively  known 
to  myself  and  Miss  Dedrick,  who  both  ac- 
companied the  photographer,  as  disorderly, 
flagrant,  infamous  houses.  Some  of  these 
barred  windows  on  the  dens  of  crime  are  here 
reproduced  from  the  photographs.  The  bars 
are  on  the  windows  of  both  floors  of  these 
buildings ;  these  are  the  back  windows  of  these 
dives,  and  look  towards  Clark  street,  a  great 
Chicago  thoroughfare,  from  which  the  upper 
windows  are  plainly  seen. 

Five  years  ago  barred  windows  on  a  house 
of  sin,  which  had  been  turned  into  a  mission, 
alarmed  some  of  us  and  gave  us  almost  our  first 
ideas  of  the  fate  of  the  white  slaves.  The  house 
was  a  notorious  place,  the  most  notorious  in 
Chicago  a  dozen  years  ago.  The  name  of  the 
woman  who  kept  it  was  known  and  is  still 
spoken  in  the  circles  of  the  immoral  through- 


r  WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  191 

out  Chicago  and  far  beyond  it.  Stories  are 
told  of  princes  of  European  houses,  pouring  out 
wine  and  money  like  water  in  this  glittering 
palace  of  mirrored  walls  and  brilliant  lights. 

The  woman  died  and  the  probate  court  would 
not  allow  her  estate  to  use  the  property  for 
immoral  purposes.  It  was  leased  for  a  mis- 
sion and  rescue  home  by  Mr.  O.  H.  Richards, 
founder  and  superintendent  of  Beulah  Home. 
Many  of  the  windows  were  barred,  and  what- 
ever explanations  might  be  offered,  we  were 
never  satisfied  that  they  were  not  barred  to 
keep  in  girls  who  at  least  at  times  would  glad- 
ly escape.  When  we  learned  that  many  other 
houses  in  the  vice  district  had  windows  similar- 
ly barred  we  were  obliged  to  conclude  that  girls 
were  constantly  detained  against  their  will- 
To  this  refuge  which  had  been  a  dive,  Edith 

E fled  one  morning,  having  escaped  from 

a  resort  on  Custom  House  Place.  She  ran  first 
to  a  drug  store,  telephoned  to  the  police  to  get 
her  street  clothes  from  the  dive,  and  then  came 
to  the  rescue  home.  She  explained  that  she 
had  heard  the  midnight  missionaries  two  nights 
before  singing,  in  a  gospel  meeting  which  they 
were  holding  in  front  of  the  den  where  she 
was: 

"Throw  out  the  life-line    to    danger-fraught 

men, 
Sinking  in  anguish  where  you've  never  been." 

So  deep  an  impression  was  made  upon  her 
that  she  was  wretched  all  the  next  day,  quite 


192  WAR  ON  THE 

unfitted  for  her  old  life.  Next  morning  she  es- 
caped. She  told  me  that  she  had  been  a  very 
wicked  girl,  that  her  young  husband  had  com- 
mitted suicide  because  of  her  sin.  She  never 
went  back  to  her  evil  life.  Her  physical  heart 
was  seriously  weakened  from  her  addiction  to 
drugs,  liquor  and  vice. 

In  October,  1906,  the  National  Purity  Fed- 
eration, of  which  Mr.  B.  S.  Steadwell  of  La-^ 
Crosse,  Wisconsin,  is  president,  held  a  confer- 
ence in  Chicago,  at  Abraham  Lincoln  Center. 
Among  the  speakers  was  the  late  Rev.  Sidney 
C.  Kendall,  whose  whole  soul  was  torn  and 
bleeding  over  the  shame  of  making  commerce 
of  women.  He  told  us  of  the  crimes  of  the 
French  traders,  of  their  systematized  traffic  in 
girls  and  of  their  organization  for  defense  when 
any  of  them  is  under  prosecution  in  the  courts. 
Mr.  Kendall  was  sick  when  he  was  here  and 
died  the  next  summer.  With  his  latest  strength 
and  his  dying  breath  he  antagonized  the  loath- 
some white  slave  trade.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  National  Vigilance  Committee  for  the 
Suppression  of  the  White  Slave  Traffic.  Mr. 
Kendall's  most  conspicuous  work  was  done  in 
Los  Angeles.  Some  of  his  spirit  remained  with 
a  few  of  us  in  Chicago  and  we  could  not  rest 
until  some  effort  was  made  here  to  rid  us  of  the 
shame  of  slavery  in  the  twentieth  century  un- 
der the  flag  of  the  free. 

On  January  30,  1907,  Mr.  O.  H.  Richards 
told  me  how  he  had  rescued  a  girl,  with  the 
help  of  the  police,  from  a  resort  after  the  worn- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  193 

an  who  kept  the  place  had  refused  to  surrender 
the  girl  to  her  mother  and  stepfather,  on  the 
claim  that  the  girl  owed  twenty  dollars  for 
clothes.  As  there  were  three  good  witnesses 
to  the  illegal  detention — the  mother,  the  step- 
father and  Mr.  Richards — I  saw  that  this  was 
a  good  case  to  bring  into  court.  I  asked  the 
mother  if,  for  the  sake  of  other  mothers'  girls, 
she  would  take  the  witness  stand.  She  heartily 
consented,  as  did  her  husband,  and  with  strong 
crying  and  tears,  she  gave  her  testimony  when 
the  offending  woman  was  arraigned,  January 
31,  before  Judge  Newcomer  at  Harrison  street. 
She  was  convicted,  fined,  and  sent  up  to  the 
bureau  of  identification — "rogue's  gallery" — 
to  leave  her  picture  and  measurements.  This 
broke  her  pride  and  she  came  down  wilted.  She 
immediately  abandoned  her  wicked  business 
and  is  a  good  woman  today.  Last  September 
when  the  midnight  workers  had  some  annoy- 
ance from  dive-keepers,  she  visited  the  district 
at  midnight  to  express  her  sympathy  with  the 
missionaries.  She  told  me,  "I  remember  what 
you  said  to  me  in  court.  You  said,  *I  love  your 
soul,  but  I  hate  your  devilish  business.'  " 

As  it  was  now  publicly  shown  that  girls  were 
held  in  houses  against  their  will,  we  printed 
the  statute  of  Illinois  against  such  detention, 
as  a  leaflet,  and  placed  a  copy  in  the  hand  of 
every  keeper  and  inmate  of  disorderly  resorts 
in  the  vice  district  at  Twenty-second  street. 
Captain  Harding  posted  a  copy  of  the  leaflet  in 
the  police  station.  Beneath  the  statute  we  print- 


194  WAR  ON  THE 

ed  a  note  saying,  "No  white  slave  need  remain 
in  slavery  in  this  state  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
who  made  the  black  slaves  free.  For  freedom 
did  Christ  set  us  free;  be  not  entangled  again 
in  the  yoke  of  bondage,  which  is  the  yoke  of 
sin  and  evil  habit."  Pastor  Boynton  tells  in 
another  chapter  how  Deaconess  Hall,  himself 
and  I,  with  Policeman  Cullet,  went  from  house 
to  house  in  the  great  vice  district  with  this  leaf- 
let, which  proved  so  powerful. 

Thereafter  the  cause  of  the  white  slaves  lay 
heavy  on  the  hearts  of  a  number  of  men  and 
women,  particularly  Deaconess  Lucy  A.  Hall, 
whose  insistence  that  something  be  done  led, 
ultimately,  to  the  organization  of  the  vigilance 
work  in  Chicago. 

In  the  autumn  of  1907,  Mrs.  Ida  Evans 
Haines  obtained  a  copy  of  a  report  of  the  Epis- 
copal Diocese,  of  Massachusetts,  on  Social 
Purity  and  the  ravages  of  the  diseases  that  are 
the  wages  of  sin.  At  Mrs.  Haines'  request, 
Rev.  Morton  Culver  Hartzell  organized  a  com- 
mittee of  ministers  of  various  denominations, 
of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Swift,  of  Austin,  was  chair- 
man, and  Rev.  Dr.  Cain,  of  Edgewater,  secre- 
tary. Under  authority  of  this  committee,  a 
meeting  was  held  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  lecture 
room  in  November,  1907,  which  was  addressed 
by  Miss  Rose  Johnson,  of  Panama.  Out  of  this 
meeting  came  the  "Committee  for  Suppres- 
son  of  Traffic  in  Vice,"  of  which  Dr.  Cain  was 
chairman.  This  committee  employed  an  in- 
vestigator and  was  appalled  by  the  revelation 


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WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  195 

of  conditions  in  Chicago,  existing  not  only  in 
so-called  red  light  districts,  but  also  in  resi- 
dence districts.  The  activity  of  this  committee 
for  the  suppression  of  traffic  in  viCe  attracted 
a  much  larger  number  of  persons,  who  pro- 
moted numerous  meetings,  which  culminated 
in  the  union  meeting  of  ministers  to  consider 
the  suppression  of  the  white  slave  traffic  in 
Chicago  and  Illinois,  on  February  loth,  1908. 

The  purpose  of  that  meeting  was  to  enlist 
the  ministers,  as  the  moral  leaders  of  the  com- 
munity, in  the  effort  to  rid  our  city  of  this 
shame,  and  by  holding  a  public  convention  to 
give  the  newspapers  opportunity  to  tell  the 
facts  to  the  public. 

Bishop  Wm.  F.  McDowell  presided;  the  de- 
votional service  was  led  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Harn- 
ly;  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Dixon. 
Addresses  were  made  as  follows:  "Chicago's 
White  Slave  Market;  the  Illegal  Red  Light 
District,"  by  Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell.  "The  White 
Slaves  and  the  Law,"  by  Mr.  Clifford  G.  Roe. 
"The  International  White  Slave  Traffic,"  by 
Dr.  O.  Edward  Janney,  of  Baltimore,  chairman 
of  the  National  Vigilance  Committee.  "The 
Lost,"  by  Mrs.  Raymond  Robins. 

Judge  Fake  spoke  briefly,  and  a  letter  was 
read  from  Judge  Sadler. 

At  that  meeting,  it  was  determined  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  organization  of  a  State  Associa- 
tion for  the  suppression  of  the  white  slave  traf- 
fie  in  Illinois.  That  same  afternoon,  February 
loth,  1908,  a  largely  attended  meeting  repre- 


196  WAR  ON  THE 

senting  ministers'  meetings,  settlements,  clubs, 
temperance  and  other  reform  organizations, 
set  themselves  to  establish  the  "Illinois  Vigi- 
lance Association." 

The  publicity  given  by  the  conference  just 
mentioned  to  the  testimony  of  ministers, 
judges  and  prosecutors,  led  the  Chicago  Tri- 
bune to  inquire  very  carefully  into  the  truth 
of  these  statements,  and  finding  them  true, 
that  newspaper  committed  itself  in  numerous 
editorials  to  antagonize  the  White  Slave  Traf- 
fic. 

The  same  conference  helped  to  enlist  Hon. 
Edwin  W.  Sims,  the  United  States  district  at- 
torney at  Chicago,  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
traffickers  in  foreign  girls  under  the  Immigra- 
tion Act  of  February  20,  1907.  Mr.  Sims  has 
repeatedly  stated  in  public  meetings  that  we 
brought  to  his  notice  the  appalling  traffic  in 
alien  girls,  which  he  has  since  done  so  much  to 
suppress. 

Much  has  been  done,  we  rejoice  to  say.  Still, 
today  we  photographed  the  barred  windows  in 
Chicago's  principal  market  for  girls. 

LATER — On  September  3,  in  an  interview 
with  Hon.  LeRoy  T.  Steward,  chief  of  police, 
Mr.  Arthur  Burrage  Farwell  and  the  writer 
submitted  photographs  of  barred  windows  to 
the  chief.  He  examined  them  carefully  and 
said  he  saw  no  need  of  such  bars  on  houses 
of  infamy.  The  explanation  of  divekeepers 
that  the  bars  were  "to  keep  out  burglars,"  was 
not  satisfactory.    Assistant  Chief  Schuettler, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  197 

who  was  present,  said,  "Give  it  to  me,  I'll  tend 
to  it."  He  took  one  of  the  photographs  and  in 
a  few  days  the  bars  were  all  removed. 

Similar  barred  windows  were  found  and 
photographed  in  Los  Angeles  during  the  cru- 
sade of  the  decent  people  of  that  city  against 
its  white  slave  market.  It's  wonderful  how 
carefully  these  slavers  everywhere  protect 
themselves  against  "burglars." 

We  reproduce  in  this  book  two  flashlight 
pictures  of  a  dungeon  door  and  a  steel  screen 
found  in  Custom  House  Place,  the  former 
white  slave  market  of  Chicago.  These  are 
taken  by  permission  from  "Chicago's  Soul 
Market,"  by  Dr.  Jean  Turner  Zimmermann. 
She  writes  concerning  these  views  as  follows: 

"In  the  south  wall  of  the  basement  of  114 
Federal  street  (Custom  House  Place)  that  con- 
gested, central  Redlight  District  of  three  years 
ago,  now  given  over  to  slum  and  immigrant 
habitation,  is  a  great  steel  door  about  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  door  of  a  railway  freight  car. 
On  the  outside,  this  door  opens  into  a  narrow, 
blind  passageway  between  114  and  116  Custom 
House  Place,  formerly  the  notorious  dive  "The 

."    On  the  inside  this  door  opened 

into  a  large  closet,  windowless,  sound  proof 
(about  4x7  feet)  and  it  is  alleged  that  it  was 
through  the  alley  and  into  this  blind  passage 
way  that  the  unwilling  victims  of  White  Slav- 
ers were  carried  into  this  little  solitary  cell. 

"The  accompanying  photograph,  secured 
by  the  writer,  gives  at  least  a  faint  idea  of  this 


igS  WAR  ON  THE 

frightful  trap  against  whose  pitiless  walls  have, 
no  doubt,  beat  the  agonized  shrieks  of  more 
than  one  innocent  girl. 

"For  two  years  we  occupied  the  premises  at 
114  Custom  House  Place  as  a  mission.  Upon 
moving  into  the  place  we  found  every  window 
incased  in  heavy  iron  bars,  while  between  the 
bars  and  the  glass  of  each  window  was  mor- 
tised a  one-half  inch  steel  screen  (see  cut). 
Entrance  or  exit  from  the  building  was  as  ut- 
terly impossible  as  from  a  penitentiary,  except- 
ing by  the  front  door." 

Certain  policemen,  from  motives  best  known 
to  themselves,  attempted  to  prevent  Dr.  Zim- 
mermann  from  taking  these  photographs. 
Scorning  their  despicable  threats  of  arrest,  she 
took  the  pictures  with  her  own  hands. 

•— E.  A,  S. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  199 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE   NATIONS   AND  THE  WHITE 
SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

By  James  Bronson  Reynolds,  New  York. 

Note: — Few  Americans  are  better  informed 
than  Mr.  Reynolds  on  the  subject  of  commerce 
in  white  women  and  girls,  and  in  Chinese  and 
Japanese  women  and  girls.  He  has  investi- 
gated this  awful  traffic  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts  of  the  United  States,  in  Panama, 
in  China  and  Japan.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
National  Vigilance  Committee,  which  co-oper- 
ates with  similar  organizations  in  other  nations 
for  the  extermination  of  this  shameful  traffic. 
In  other  important  investigations  he  has  been 
a  special  commissioner  of  President  Roosevelt. 

This  chapter  is  an  address  delivered  by  Mr. 
Reynolds,  who  came  from  New  York  for  the 
purpose,  before  the  conference  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  White  Slave  Traffic  held  by  the 
Illinois  Vigilance  Association  in  Chicago,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1909. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  TREATY. 

On  May  18,  1904,  a  treaty  was  signed  be- 
tween the  leading  countries  of  Europe,  for  the 
repression  of  the  white  slave  traffic.  This 
treaty  was  presented  to  our  government  and 


200  WAR  ON  THE 

after  careful  consideration  its  ratification  was 
advised  by  the  senate  and  proclaimed  by  the 
President,  June  15,  1908.  If  I  am  correctly  in- 
formed, this  is  the  first  treaty  relating  to  social 
morality  consummated  between  the  leading 
civilized  governments  of  the  world.  This  ac- 
tion is  of  the  highest  significance  and  import- 
ance. The  provisions  of  this  treaty  should  be 
generally  known  by  our  people,  which  is  not 
the  case  today,  and  we  should  carefully  con- 
sider our  obligations  as  citizens  to  its  proper 
fulfillment.  It  should  be  hailed  as  a  step  of 
progress  in  this  twentieth  century,  which 
seems  destined  to  record  great  improvements 
in  social  well-being  and  in  the  removal  of  in- 
equalities of  condition.  The  most  important 
provisions  of  the  treaty  which  I  will  summar- 
ize are  contained  in  the  first  three  articles : 

Article  i.  Each  of  the  contracting  govern- 
ments agrees  to  establish  or  designate  an  au- 
thority who  will  be  directed  to  centralize  in- 
formation concerning  the  procuration  of 
women  and  girls,  for  the  purpose  of  their  de- 
bauchery in  a  foreign  country:  That  author- 
ity shall  be  empowered  to  correspond  directly 
with  the  similiar  service  established  in  each  of 
the  other  contracting  states. 

Article  2.  Each  of  the  governments  agrees 
to  exercise  supervision  of  railway  stations, 
ports  of  embarkation  and  of  women  and  girls 
in  transit,  in  order  to  procure  all  possible  in- 
formation leading  to  the  discovery  of  a  crim- 
inal traffic.     The  arrival  of  persons  involved 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  201 

in  such  traffic,  as  procurers  or  victims,  shall 
be  communicated  to  diplomatic  or  consular 
agents. 

Article  3.  The  governments  agree  to  in- 
form the  authorities  of  the  country  of  origin 
of  the  discovery  of  such  unfortunates  and  to 
retain,  pending  advices,  such  victims  in  insti- 
tutions of  public  or  private  charity.  Such 
parties  will  be  returned  after  proper  identifi- 
cation to  the  country  of  origin. 

The  execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  treaty 
in  European  countries  has  been  entrusted  to 
the  national  police  service.  In  this  country, 
where  the  police  are  not  a  department  of  the 
national  government,  the  Bureau  of  Immigra- 
tion, which  seemed  best  equipped  for  the  ser- 
vice pledged,  has  been  instructed  to  carry  out, 
so  far  as  possible,  the  provisions  of  the  treaty. 

THE  EXTENT  AND  POWER  OF  THE 
EVIL  FORCES. 

Even  this  exceptionally  well  informed  audi- 
ence may  not  be  fully  aware  of  the  extent  and 
power  of  the  evil  forces  which  Europe  and 
America  have  through  this  treaty  combined  to 
oppose.  That  the  treaty  was  originally  drafted 
without  the  assistance  of  our  own  government, 
indicates  that  Europe  first  realized  the  neces- 
sity of  governmental  action.  The  adhesion 
of  our  own  government  to  the  treaty  proves  its 
subsequent  recognition  of  the  seriousness  of 
the  evil.  Briefly  stated,  the  status  of  the 
white  slave  traffic  is  this:  It  is  a  traffic  with 


202  WAR  ON  THE 

local,  interstate,  national  and  international 
ramifications.  It  has  the  complete  outfit  of  a 
large  business;  large  capital,  representatives 
in  various  countries,  well  paid  agents,  and  able, 
high  salaried  lawyers.  Its  victims  are  num- 
bered yearly  by  the  thousands.  They  include 
not  only  the  peasant  girls  of  European  villages, 
but  also  the  farmers'  daughters  of  our  own 
country.  Some  are  uneducated  and  wholly 
ignorant;  others  have  enjoyed  good  education. 
While  most  of  them  come  from  the  homes  of 
poverty,  occasionally  a  child  of  well-to-do  par- 
entage is  numbered  among  the  victims.  The 
alert  agents  of  the  traffic  move  from  place  to 
place,  alluring  peasant  girls  and  farmers' 
daughters  from  their  homes,  entrapping  inno- 
cent victims  at  railway  stations  and  public  re- 
sorts. Not  a  few  girls  who  go  to  the  cities  to 
seek  their  fortunes  and  fail  are  caught  by  these 
harpies.  And  remember,  I  am  alluding  now 
not  to  those  who  go  astray  because  of  incident- 
al misfortunes  of  circumstance,  condition,  or 
blind  trust  in  some  unworthy  lover,  but  only 
to  those  who  are  entrapped  by  the  agents  of 
the  organized  white  slave  traffic  system. 

The  above  statements  have  been  abundantly 
established  by  the  investigations  of  the  Na- 
tional Vigilance  Committee  within  the  past 
two  years  and  have  been  confirmed  by  other 
competent  authorities.  These  conditions  have 
been  due  not  to  the  wish  or  the  intention  of  our 
people,  but  to  our  blindness  or  our  ignorance 
We  forget  that  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  203 

liberty,  as  one  declaiming  of  political  freedom 
has  said.  The  same  price  must  be  paid  for 
every  other  civic  excellence  or  right.  The  lib- 
erty of  woman,  quite  as  much  as  the  liberty  of 
man,  should  be  protected,  and  woman's  moral 
freedom,  quite  as  much  as  man's  political  free- 
dom, demands  for  its  protection  unceasing  v^ig- 
ilance. 

Without  going  further  into  general  condi- 
tions, I  wish  to  present  a  statement  regarding 
America's  relations  to  the  white  slave  traffic  in 
China  and  Japan  and  to  the  yellow  slave  traffic 
in  the  Pacific  Coast  states  of  our  own  country. 
My  information  regarding  China  and  Japan  is 
based  primarily  on  my  own  personal  observa- 
tions and  inquiries  in  those  countries.  My  in- 
formation regarding  conditions  in  Calfornia  is 
based  upon  the  report  of  a  special  agent  of  the 
National  Vigilance  Committee  and  upon  the 
reports  of  missionaries  and  other  workers 
among  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  women  on 
our  Western  coast. 

I  shall  consider  my  subject  in  two  divisions : 
First,  white  slave  traffic  in  Asia;  second,  yel- 
low slave  traffic  in  AMERICA.  I  trust  I  do 
not  seem  to  be  stretching  the  application  of  the 
subject  of  my  address  in  the  title  of  the  second 
division.  It  is  the  traffic  in  the  bodies  and  souls 
of  women,  and  I  care  not  whether  they  are 
white,  yellow  or  black.  (Applause.)  Our  re- 
sponsibility is  independent  of  the  color  of  the 
victims. 


204  WAR  ON  THE 

THE  WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC  IN  ASIA: 
OUR  SHAME  IN  THE  ORIENT. 

The  record  of  white  slave  traffic  in  the 
Orient  presents  one  of  the  darkest  pages  in  our 
history.  In  many  Oriental  cities,  notably  in 
Hong  Kong,  Shanghai  and  Yokohama,  there 
exists  a  quarter  made  up  of  houses  of  ill-repute. 
The  most  showy  and  stylishly  dressed  of  their 
occupants  are  Americans.  Some  of  them  are 
often  conspicuous  in  expensive  equipages  on 
the  leading  thoroughfares.  It  is  so  well  known 
a  fact  in  the  Orient  that  these  women  are  Am- 
ericans that  I  was  told  in  three  cities  that  the 
term  "American  girl"  was  synonymous  of  a 
prostitute.  Such  a  condition  would  be  deplor- 
able in  itself,  but  in  addition  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  just  as  we  Americans  derive  our 
chief  impression  of  the  Chinese  nation  from  the 
Chinese  quarters  in  Boston,  New  York,  Chi- 
cago and  San  Francisco,  so  the  Chinese  in  their 
home  form  their  impression  of  Americans  from 
the  American  communities  in  the  Orient,  in 
which  the  daughters  of  shame  are  most  in  evi- 
dence. 

Until  recently  Shanghai  held  first  place 
among  Oriental  cities  of  such  shameful  repute. 
That  this  status  has  been  somewhat  modified 
is  due  chiefly  to  the  courage  and  persistence 
of  Judge  Wilfley,  American  Circuit  Court 
Judge  at  Shanghai.  He  was  severely  criticised, 
I  believe,  before  a  Congressional  investigating 
committee  last  winter,  for  lack  of  tact,  and  for 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  205 

using  rough-shod  methods,  ;  A  careful  investi- 
gation by  Mr.  Root,  the  Secretary  of  State,  re- 
sulted, however,  in  Judge  Wilfley's  complete 
vindication  and  in  the  highest  praise  for  the 
service  he  had  rendered  in  cleansing  out  the 
Augean  stables  of  American  vice  in  Shanghai. 
But  in  spite  of  his  admirable  efforts,  the  reform 
has  not  been  permanent,  and  will  only  become 
so  when  we  manifest  that  our  moral  house- 
cleaning  is  a  permanent  duty  to  be  kept  up  at 
all  times. 

Of  course  there  are  clean  and  happy  Ameri- 
can homes  in  these  cities,  just  as  there  are  hap- 
py Chinese  homes  in  our  Chinese  quarters, 
though  few  of  us  are  aware  of  the  latter  fact, 
as  neither  our  reporters  nor  our  slumming  par- 
ties discover  them.  But  the  American  dens  of 
vice  in  the  coast  cities  are  the  most  conspicu- 
ous exponents  of  Americanism  in  China  and 
Japan,  as  the  Chinese  opium  and  gambling 
dens  in  our  American  cities  are  supposed  to  be 
t3^ical  of  life  in  China.  We  hasten  to  assert 
that  in  our  case  the  imputation  is  deplorably 
incorrect.  We  might  with  equal  truth  recog- 
nize the  injustice  of  judging  the  average  China- 
man by  impressions  formed  in  a  Chinatown 
slumming  party. 

The  Chinese  colonies  of  this  country  and  the 
European  and  American  colonies  in  the  Orient 
exhibit  the  worst  side  of  their  respective  na- 
tional character.  Thus  through  the  depravity 
of  a  fragment  of  our  people  the  nation  is  mis- 
judged and  is  believed  to  make  for  unrighteous- 


2o6  WAR  ON  THE 

ness.  This  has  been  the  direct  result  of  our  in- 
difference to  our  reputation  in  the  Orient.  It 
is  well  to  remind  you  that  under  the  exterritor- 
iality clause  of  our  treaty  with  China,  all  Amer- 
icans in  China  are  under  the  protection  and 
control  of  our  consular  representatives.  The 
Chinese  in  this  country  have  no  such  protection 
from  their  home  government.  The  Chinese 
nation  is,  therefore,  entitled  to  hold  us  respon- 
sible for  the  conduct  of  Americans  in  China, 
as  we  cannot  hold  the  Chinese  government  re- 
sponsible for  the  conduct  of  its  people  in  our 
country. 

When  I  was  in  Japan,  at  the  request  of  the 
American  government,  I  approached  certain 
Japanese  officials  to  learn  if  something  could 
not  be  done  to  stop  the  sending  of  Japanese 
girls  to  this  country  for  immoral  purposes.  I 
was  courteously  received,  and  after  some  dis- 
cussion was  assured  that  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment would  gladly  co-operate  to  suppress  this 
traffic  and  would  welcome  any  suggestions  to 
that  end.  A  high  official  said  to  me,  "We  de- 
sire to  have  the  Japanese  enjoy  a  good  reputa- 
tion in  your  country,  and  therefore  we  are  most 
anxious  that  only  those  Japanese  should  go  to 
your  country  who  will  contribute  to  the  good 
reputation  of  our  country."  But  on  leaving 
this  official  he  said  with  some  hesitation,  "Do 
you  think  it  would  be  possible  on  your  return 
to  America  to  suggest  to  your  officials  that  they 
might  do  something  to  prevent  the  sending  of 
American  girls  to  our  citi**^?"    JL,et  those  who 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  207 

hastily  declare  the  Japanese  to  be  wholly  de- 
praved because  of  the  Yoshiwara  in  their  cities, 
understand  that  we  have  been  and  still  are  re- 
sponsible for  an  American  Yoshiwara  in  more 
than  one  Japanese  and  Chinese  city. 

Should  not  this  mortifying  suggestion  of  a 
Japanese  official  to  a  Christian  nation,  the 
burning  disgrace  to  our  country,  and  the  dic- 
tates of  patriotism,  of  decency  and  of  human- 
ity, arouse  us  and  through  us  our  government? 
If  we  realize  the  necessity  of  action,  then  there 
are  three  things  which  we  can  and  should  do. 

1.  Provision  should  be  made  by  law  so  that 
the  protection  of  American  citizenship,  impu- 
dently flaunted  in  the  Orient  by  the  American 
prostitutes  and  other  outlaws,  should  be  with- 
drawn. American  citizenship  should  not  be  a 
cloak  for  the  protection  and  promotion  of  vice. 
I  realize  the  danger  of  the  possible  abuse  of 
such  proscription.  Proper  safeguards  must  be 
maintained  so  that  an  arrogant  or  unprincipled 
consul  may  not  abuse  his  power ;  but  with  prop- 
er checks,  protection  sought  in  the  name  of 
American  citizenship  should  bring  good  char- 
acter as  its  credential. 

2.  Direct  communication  should  be  estab- 
lished between  our  government  and  the  gov- 
ernments of  Japan  and  China,  assuring  these 
governments  that  we  deplore  the  presence  in 
their  territory  of  such  unworthy  representa- 
tives of  our  country,  and  that  we  will  gladly 
co-operate  in  driving  them  from  their  unholy 
traffic. 


2o8  WAR  ON  THE 

3.  A  formal  treaty  agreement  should  be  in- 
stituted with  China  and  Japan  under  which  the 
high  contracting  parties  should  agree  to  use 
their  respective  police  powers  to  detect  and 
punish  those  who  seek  to  send  girls  or  women 
from  one  country  to  the  other  for  immoral  pur- 
poses. 

THE    YELLOW    SLAVE    TRAFFIC    IN 

AMERICA— MORE  SHAMEFUL 

STILL. 

Second.     Yellow  slave  traffic  in  America. 

Deplorable  and  disgraceful  as  is  the  white 
slave  traffic  in  the  Orient,  the  yellow  slave 
traffic  in  our  own  country  is  infinitely  more  dis- 
graceful. We  call  ourselves  a  Christian  nation. 
The  Chinese  and  Japanese  are  classed  as 
heathen,  but  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that 
the  heathen  slaves  imprisoned  in  the  pens  of 
California  are  in  a  much  worse  plight  under 
Christian  rule  than  are  their  unfortunate  sis- 
ters in  Chinese  and  Japanese  cities  under  heath- 
en rule. 

I  am  informed  that  five  years  ago  very  few 
Oriental  women  were  imported  for  immoral 
purposes.  A  small  number  of  Chinese  women 
were  kept  in  certain  houses  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  Chinese  men.  Today  there  is  an  or- 
ganized system  of  commerce  in  human  flesh  be- 
tween China  and  Japan  and  this  country,  and 
an  organized  system  of  slavery  in  certain  of  our 
coast  states.  After  the  payment  of  money  for 
this  human  property,  title  is  passed  just  as  for 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  209 

real  estate,  and  the  alleged  property  rights  are 
respected  by  our  officials.  Is  this  Christian? 
Is  it  decent?  Is  it  American?  Is  it  anything 
but  a  vile  shame  and  disgrace,  a  disgrace  to  be 
abolished  by  the  determined  action  of  every 
lover  of  decency  in  our  land?  [Cries  of  No! 
No!] 

I  am  not  making  these  statements  on  the 
basis  of  newspaper  stories  or  travelers'  gossip. 
Let  me  quote  from  a  report  of  our  investigator. 
Speaking  of  one  city  in  California,  he  says, 
'The  crib  system,  which  means  the  keeping  of 
many  girls  in  small  rooms  in  large  buildings, 
sometimes  under  lock  and  key,  sometimes  at 
liberty  to  come  and  go,  is  adopted  to  a  limited 
degree  among  Japanese  girls.  Across  the  river 
these  girls  are  kept  in  the  Chinese  quarter. 
They  are  owned  by  wealthy  Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese men.  The  property  thus  used  for  saloon, 
gambling  and  for  a  slave  market  for  girls  is 
said  to  belong  to  an  estate  controlled  by  a  high 
official  of  the  state." 

Of  another  city  our  investigator  says:  "In 
conversation  with  a  very  intelligent  Chinese 
woman,  the  direct  question  was  asked,  *Are  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  women  actual  prisoners 
owned  and  controlled  by  their  keepers?'  She 
said  that  such  was  practically  the  case,  and 
that  none  of  these  girls  were  allowed  to  leave 
their  rooms  without  being  escorted  by  older 
people,  whose  presence  with  them  would  in- 
sure their  return. 

"It  is  remarkable  that  the  authorities  of 


210  WAR  ON  THE 

Oakland  seem  to  regard  this  crib  slavery  of 
young  girls  as  part  of  the  legitimate  business 
of  the  city." 

Of  a  third  city  he  says:  "There  is  a  district 

in ,  covering  five  blocks — a  crib  district 

— ^where  the  floating  population  gathers  by  the 
hundreds.  The  girls  here  number  from  loo  to 
600. 

"One  other  similar  section  of is  owned 

by  some  very  prominent  and  wealthy  citizens, 
who  pay  taxes  on  the  property.  Their  names 
are  known.  In  the  suburbs  is  a  field  containing 
the  nameless  graves  of  451  unknown  girls." 

Many  cases  are  on  record  of  the  attempts 
of  missionary  workers,  some  successful  and 
some  unsuccessful,  to  snatch  these  victims 
from  their  owners.  One  missionary  told  of  an 
instance  where  she  had  been  informed  that  one 
of  five  girls  confined  in  a  certain  room  in  a 
house  of  ill-repute  desired  to  escape.  With  the 
help  of  an  honest  policeman  and  two  assistants 
the  missionary  forced  her  way  into  the  room. 
When  she  found  the  five  girls  she  was  at  a  loss 
to  determine  what  to  do,  because  she  could  not 
recognize  which  one  wished  to  escape.  She 
had  been  informed  that  the  girl  she  sought 
would  be  afraid  to  indicate  her  wish.  After 
hesitation  the  missionary  selected  one  girl  and 
told  the  detective  to  seize  her.  The  girl 
screamed,  kicked,  scratched  and  fought  her 
rescuers  with  the  greatest  energy,  but  was  car- 
ried into  the  street  and  into  the  mission  house. 
As  soon  as  she  was  inside  the  house  she  fell  at 


iWHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  211 

the  feet  of  the  teacher  and  said,  "Teacher,  you 
know  I  didn't  mean  what  I  said.  I  did  not  dare 
to  show  any  desire  to  go  for  fear  I  might  be 
taken  back."  It  happened  that  the  missionary 
got  the  girl  whom  she  sought  and  who  desired 
her  liberty.  Other  attempts  at  rescue  have 
been  less  successful.  On  one  occasion  a  rescue 
party  sought  a  Chinese  girl,  whom  it  was 
agreed  should  hold  to  her  mouth  a  white  hand- 
kerchief as  a  signal  that  she  was  the  one  to  be 
taken.  When  the  rescue  party  entered  the 
place,  they  saw  the  girl  with  the  handkerchief 
to  her  face,  at  the  soliciting  window.  Unfor- 
tunately, in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  the 
girl  lost  her  presence  of  mind,  and,  waving  her 
handkerchief,  cried  out,  "O  teacher!"  But  a 
locked  door  still  separated  her  from  her  rescu- 
ers, and  her  keepers,  suspecting  the  truth, 
dragged  her  back,  and  she  was  lost  in  the  house 
before  the  door  could  be  forced.  Other  girls 
who  escaped  from  the  den  afterwards  told  her 
fate.  Her  enraged  owner  kicked  her  to  death 
in  one  of  the  rooms  of  her  slave  prison  where 
there  was  none  to  defend  her.  No  one  was 
ever  punished  for  this  crime. 

Horrible  as  these  incidents  were,  they  are  but 
the  regular  accompaniments  of  slavery.  They 
have  been  paralleled  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
countries  where  slavery  has  existed.  The 
shame  of  it  is  that  in  America  in  the  twentieth 
century  such  slavery  should  still  be  tolerated. 

Ought  we  not  to  give  active  support  to  our 
government  in  its  fulfillment    of    its    treaty 


212  WAR  ON  THE 

agreement  with  the  nations  of  Europe?  And 
should  not  our  example  in  the  Orient  and  our 
conduct  in  our  own  country  be  more  worthy  of 
our  national  moral  standards?  If  so,  then  such 
an  association  as  this  has  a  more  than  local 
service  to  render.  Placed  in  this  important 
center,  it  must  reach  out  both  to  the  East  and 
to  the  West,  awaken  interest,  give  warning, 
and  help  to  provide  a  chain  of  national  protec- 
tive agencies  to  combat  and  destroy  the  closely 
linked  chain  of  purveyors  of  vice. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  213 


CHAPTER  XVI.  ' 

THE  YELLOW  SLAVE  TRADE.         : 

During  the  administration  of  President 
Hayes  the  United  States  consul  general  at 
Shanghai,  Mr.  D.  H.  Bailey,  made  a  report  to 
the  president,  relating  to  slavery  in  China  and 
the  menace  to  our  country  from  that  cause.  He 
enclosed  with  his  report  a  translation  of  the 
laws  governing  slaves,  some  of  which  are  as 
follows : 

"If  a  female  slave  deserts  her  master's  house 
she  shall  be  punished  with  eighty  blows.  Who- 
ever harbors  a  fugitive  wife  or  slave,  knowing 
them  to  be  fugitives,  shall  participate  equally 
in  their  punishment. 

"A  slave  guilty  of  addressing  abusive  lan- 
guage to  his  master  shall  suffer  death  by  being 
strangled. 

"The  master  or  the  relatives  of  a  master  of 
a  guilty  slave  may  chastise  such  slave  in  any 
degree  short  of  death,  without  being  liable  to 
any  punishment. 

"All  slaves  who  are  guilty  of  designedly 
striking  their  masters  shall,  without  making 
any  distinction  between  principals  and  acces- 
sories, be  beheaded. 

"If  accidentally  they  kill  their  master,  they 
shall  suffer  death  by  being  strangled." 

In  China,  and  wherever  Chinese  live,  slave 


214  WAR  ON  THE 

girls  and  women  are  subject  to  two  forms  of 
slavery,  domestic  slavery  and  brothel  slavery. 
Every  respectable  Chinese  family  has  one  or 
two  house  slaves.  The  brothel  slave  is  a  literal 
slave,  bought  and  sold  like  a  sheep  or  cow. 
Traffic  in  Chinese  girls  for  wicked  uses  extend- 
ed to  Hong  Kong  as  soon  as  the  island  became 
prosperous  and  populous  after  being  ceded  to 
Great  Britain  in  1841.  From  Hong  Kong  the 
horrid  trade  reached  to  California,  and  to  Sing- 
apore and  other  places. 

Commissioners  appointed  by  the  governor 
of  Hong  Kong  made  a  report  in  1880,  from 
which  the  following  accounts  are  taken: 

"Young  girls,  virgins  of  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  of  age,  are  brought  from  Canton  or  else- 
where and  deflowered  according  to  bargain, 
and  as  a  regular  business  for  large  sums  of 
money,  which  go  to  their  owners.  The  regular 
earnings  of  the  girls  go  to  the  same  quarters, 
and  the  unfortunate  creatures  obviously  form 
subjects  of  speculation  to  regular  traders  in  this 
kind  of  business,  who  reside  beyond  our  juris- 
diction. Mr.  Lister  speaks  of  the  brothel- 
keepers  as  a  horrible  race  of  cruel  women,  cruel 
to  the  last  degree,  who  use  an  ingenious  form 
of  torture,  which  they  call  prevention  of  sleep, 
which  he  describes  in  detail." 

"Two  girls  were  brought  before  the  registrar 
general,  both  of  whom  pleaded  for  protec- 
tion against  their  owner,  stating  that  she  in- 
tended to  sell  them  to  go  to  California.  One 
of  these  had  been  bought  by  this  woman  for 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  215 

eighty  dollars;  the  girl  saw  the  price  paid  for 
her.  The  other  said  her  mother  was  very  poor 
and  sold  her  for  twenty  dollars.  The  inspector 
said:  *There  has  been  at  times  a  number  of 
women  residing  in  the  house,  and  I  do  not 
know  what  has  become  of  them.  I  believe  that 
they  have  been  sent  to  California  by  the  de- 
fendant.' " 

The  poor  slave  girls,  as  shown  by  court  pro- 
ceedings at  Hong  Kong,  had  the  same  terror 
of  being  "sold  into  California"  that  the  negro 
slaves  in  this  country  had  of  being  "sold  down 
the  river."  One  of  the  girls  testified  that  she 
had  seen  several  women  sent  away  to  Califor- 
nia. She  had  been  present  when  bargains  were 
made,  the  price  varying.  In  Hong  Kong  the 
price  was  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars;  they  would  bring  in  California  from 
two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars. 

Owing  to  the  restriction  of  Chinese  immi- 
gration, and  the  penal  laws  against  importing 
women  for  evil  uses,  the  value  of  a  slave  girl  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  has  greatly  increased;  it  is 
now  $3,000. 

The  system  of  Chinese  brothel  slavery  differs 
from  the  white  slave  trade,  in  that  the  Chinese 
brothel  slaves  are  not  weak  or  wicked 
women  who  have  fallen  into  the  clutch- 
es of  traffickers,  as  so  many  of  our  Eu- 
ropean and  American  white  slaves  un- 
questionably are,  but  are  good  girls  who 
have  been  sold  by  their  actual  owners  into 


2i6  WAR  ON  THE 

a  life  of  shame  for  money,  sometimes  sold  by 
their  own  parents.  Some  are  not  sold  outright, 
but  are  mortgaged  to  pay  off  a  loan.  So  much 
is  credited  each  month  until  the  debt  is  can- 
celed— unless  fresh  debts,  real  or  fictitious,  keep 
the  victim  indefinitely,  as  with  the  white  slaves. 
On  the  marked  differences  between  the  white 
slave  and  the  yellow  slave,  the  commissioners 
previously  quoted  say :  "Prostitutes  in  Europe 
are,  as  a  general  rule,  fallen  women,  the  vic- 
tims of  seduction,  or  possibly  of  innate  vice. 
Being  the  outcasts  of  society,  and  having  little, 
if  any,  prospect  of  being  admitted  again  into 
decent  and  respectable  circles  of  life,  deprived 
also  of  their  own  self-respect  as  well  as  the 
regards  of  their  relatives,  occasionally  even 
troubled  with  qualms  of  conscience,  they  most- 
ly dread  thinking  of  their  future,  and  seek  ob- 
livion in  excesses  of  boisterous  dissipation. 
The  Chinese  prostitutes  of  Hong  Kong  are  an 
entirely  different  set  of  people.  Very  few  of 
them  can  be  called  fallen  women,  scarcely  any 
of  them  are  the  victims  of  seduction  in  the  Eng- 
lish sense  of  the  term,  refined  or  unrefined. 
The  great  majority  of  them  are  owned  by  pro- 
fessional brothel-keepers  or  traders  in  women 
in  Canton  or  Macao,  have  been  brought  up  for 
that  life  and  trained  in  various  accomplish- 
ments suited  to  it.  They  frequently  know 
neither  father  nor  mother,  except  what  they 
call  a  pocket-mother,  that  is,  the  woman  who 
bought  them  from  others."    There  are  18,000 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  217 

such  slaves  in  Hong  Kong,  if  the  estimates  ac- 
cepted by  the  commissioners  are  correct. 

In  China  the  yellow  slave  has  hope  of  escape 
from  her  bondage.  If  she  is  pretty  and  accom- 
plished, some  rich  man  may  buy  her  for  his 
first,  second,  third  or  fourth  wife.  .  If  she  is 
homely  some  honest  working  man  may  take 
her.  Or  she  may  sing  or  play  an  instrument 
and  thereby  add  to  her  earnings  until  she  can 
buy  her  own  freedom,  if  dissipation  and  disease 
have  not  killed  her  first. 

The  mortgaged  girls  are  often  such  as  have 
sacrificed  their  own  to  their  family's  honor,  ac- 
cording to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  notion  of 
filial  piety.  The  money  thus  advanced  by  the 
keeper  is  thought  necessary  to  rescue  the  girl's 
family  or  some  member  of  it  from  calamity  or 
ruin.  One  Japanese  man  is  quoted  as  saying 
that  such  sacrifice  on  a  girl's  part  is  "Christ- 
like." He  should  hear  the  voice  of  Christ,  say- 
ing of  all  these  sins,  "which  things  I  also  hate." 
Revelation,  2 : 6. 

YELLOW  SLAVES  IN  AMERICA. 

The  terrible  system  of  Chinese  and  Japanese 
brothel  slavery  has  been  imported  into  San 
Francisco,  Oakland,  and  other  cities  of  Califor- 
nia. Americans  and  Europeans  have  invested 
money  and  devoted  business  ability  to  this 
enormous  iniquity,  because  it  pays  well.  Apart 
from  the  horrors  of  Chinatown,  one  thousand 
Japanese  women  are  held  in  this  form  of  slav- 
ery in  California.    The  San  Francisco  Chron- 


2i8  WAR  ON  THE 

icle  said  of  this  statement:  "There  is  not  the 
slightest  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion, 
disreputable  as  it  may  seem." 

The  police  will  generally  say  after  investi- 
gating, that  these  women  are  willing  to  remain 
in  their  present  condition.  Doubtless  this  is 
true  of  most  of  them,  but  they  are  slaves,  none 
the  less,  literal  and  actual  slaves,  bought  and 
paid  for  and  acknowledging  the  ownership.  In 
a  letter  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  written  before 
the  war,  he  tells  of  a  company  of  negro  slaves 
that  he  saw  on  a  boat  on  the  (Dhio  and  he  never 
saw  such  a  happy  company  of  people  in  his 
life.  When  John  Brown  made  his  raid  into 
Virginia  and  captured  200,000  stands  of  arms 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  hoped  that  the  thousands 
of  negro  slaves  in  that  region  would  join  him 
and  fight  for  their  freedom.  He  could  only  get 
six  or  eight  negroes  to  join  him,  and  those  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet.  One  was  shot  rather 
than  seek  his  liberty.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
Abolition  movement  a  petition  from  slaves  was 
sent  to  Congress  in  favor  of  slavery !  Women 
terrorized  by  such  laws  as  are  quoted  at  the 
beginning  of  this  chapter,  and  further  terror- 
ized by  all  the  brutal  treatment  and  threats  of 
the  slave  traders,  are  not  likely  to  say  to  the 
police  that  they  desire  liberty.  But  it  is  our 
duty  to  give  them  liberty  and  to  punish  their 
owners,  who  cannot  legally  own  them,  but  do 
practically  own  them  under  the  Stars  and 
Stripes. 

The  following  cases  illustrate  the  traffic  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  219 

the  work  of  missionaries.  These  three  girls 
were  in  the  Methodist  Home  for  Chinese  Girls, 
located  since  the  earthquake  at  Berkeley.  One 
says: 

"I  am  twelve  years  old ;  born  in  Canton ;  fath- 
er a  laborer ;  mother  a  nurse ;  parents  very  poor. 
Mother  fell  sick  and  in  her  need  of  money  sold 
me  to  a  woman  three  years  ago  in  Hong  Kong. 
The  woman  promised  my  mother  to  make  me 
her  own  daughter.  My  mother  cried  when  she 
left  me ;  I  have  heard  that  she  is  now  dead.  The 
big  ship  City  of  Pekin  took  me  soon  out  of 
sight.  There  was  trouble  in  landing  me.  The 
woman  had  no  trouble  in  landing,  because  she 
had  been  in  California  before.  She  told  me 
what  I  was  to  say.  She  told  me  I  must  swear  I 
was  her  own  daughter.  The  judge  asked  me, 
Ts  this  your  own  mother?'  and  I  said,  *Yes.' 
This  was  a  lie,  but  I  did  not  know  it  was  wrong 
to  do  as  I  was  told,  and  I  was  afraid  of  my  mis- 
tress. The  Judge  said,  *Did  this  woman  give 
you  birth?'  and  I  said,  *Yes.'  The  judge  said, 
'did  anybody  tell  you  to  say  all  this?'  and  I 
said  *No,'  because  my  mistress  had  instructed 
me.  She  taught  me  on  shipboard  what  to  say 
if  I  was  taken  to  court.  She  beat  me  with  thick 
sticks  of  firewood.  She  beat  me  with  the  fire 
tongs.  One  day  she  took  a  hot  flatiron,  re- 
moved my  clothes  and  held  it  on  my  naked 
back  until  I  howled  with  pain.  (The  scab  was 
on  her  back  when  she  came  to  the  Mission.) 
My  forehead  is  all  scars  caused  by  her  throw- 
ing heavy  pieces  of  wood  at  my  head.    One 


220  WAR  ON  THE 

cut  a  large  gash  and  the  blood  ran  out.  SKc 
stopped  the  bleeding  and  hid  me  away.  I 
thought  I  better  get  away  before  she  killed  me. 
When  she  was  having  her  hair  washed  and 
dressed  I  ran  away.  I  had  heard  of  the  Mis- 
sion, and  inquired  the  way  and  came  to  it.  A 
white  man  brought  me  here.  I  am  very  happy 
now." 

Another  little  slave,  eleven  years  old,  who 
was  about  to  be  sold  from  domestic  slavery  in- 
to a  brothel,  was  saved  by  a  Chinaman.  She 
says :  "A  Chinaman  living  next  door,  knowing 
how  I  was  treated  and  that  I  was  going  to  be 
put  in  a  brothel,  when  I  saw  him  in  the  pas- 
sageway, asked  me  if  I  wished  to  come  to  the 
Mission,  and  I  said  *Yes.'  My  mistress  had 
gone  out  into  the  next  room,  leaving  her 
daughter  and  another  slave  girl  in  the  room.  I 
said  I  would  go  at  once  and  he  brought  me.  I 
am  very  glad  to  live  here  and  lead  a  good  life." 

In  the  following  case  the  rescuer  was  a  ne- 
gress.  A  young  girl  came  from  China  to  San 
Francisco  as  a  merchant's  wife.  Missionaries 
visited  her  in  Chinatown,  but  she  disappeared 
and  explanations  were  not  satisfactory.  A  year 
later  the  door  bell  rang  one  night  at  the  Mis- 
sion and  when  it  was  opened  a  Chinese  girl 
fell  in  a  faint  across  the  threshold,  a  colored 
girl  holding  her  by  the  queue.  The  colored  girl 
saw  her  running  and,  to  prevent  her  from  be- 
ing dragged  back  by  her  tormentors,  seized  her 
by  the  queue  and  helped  her  run  to  the  Mis- 
sion.   It  was  the  merchant's  young  wife.    The 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  221 

wretch  had  left  her  on  false  pretense  in  a  den 
of  shame.  She  was  tied  to  a  window  by  day 
and  to  a  bed  by  night,  a  thoroughly  unwilling 
slave.  Three  days  before  her  escape,  the  chief 
of  police  and  an  interpreter  had  gone  through 
the  house,  questioning  every  inmate  as  to 
whether  they  wished  to  lead  a  life  of  shame  or 
not.  She  was  asked  the  question  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  divekeeper,  the  madam  and  all  the 
girls.  She  had  been  told  beforehand,  "If  you 
dare  say  you  want  to  escape,  we  will  kill  you." 
The  chief  of  police  announced  in  the  papers 
that  there  were  no  slaves  in  Chinatown. 
Though  watched  night  and  day,  she  rushed  out 
at  an  opportune  moment  and,  with  the  help  of 
the  colored  girl,  ran  to  safety. 

Since  the  earthquake  immense  slave  pens 
have  been  built  at  Oakland  and  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. A  photograph  of  one  large  wooden 
structure,  to  hold  more  than  a  hundred  girls,  is 
before  me  as  I  write.  The  girls  are  kept  in 
small  rooms,  nine  or  ten  feet  square.  Ameri- 
cans and  Chinamen  are  partners  in  the  horrible 
business. 

This  chapter  is  a  review,  in  part,  of  the  book, 
"Heathen  Slaves  and  Christian  Rulers,"  writ- 
ten by  Dr.  Katharine  Bushnell  and  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Andrew. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  and  delight  to  meet 
Dr.  Bushnell  and  Mrs.  Andrew  in  Bombay, 
at  the  time  when  Lord  Roberts  had  contradict- 
ed their  statements  about  procuring  women 
for  British  soldiers  in  India — "Queen's  wom- 


222  WAR  ON  THE 

en"  as  they  were  called.  Upon  being  convinced 
that  Dr.  Bushnell  and  Mrs  Andrew  had  told  the 
truth,  Lord  Roberts,  then  commander-in-chief 
of  the  forces  in  India,  said,  "I  apologize  to  the 
ladies  without  reserve." 

E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  223 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

HOW  SNAKES  CHARM  CANARIES: 
METHODS  OF  PROCURERS. 

At  the  end  of  May,  1907,  Rev.  Melbourne  P. 
Boynton,  pastor  of  the  Lexington  Avenue  Bap- 
tist Church,  was  requested  by  the  Chicago  Ex- 
aminer to  make  a  tour  of  the  vice  district  at 
Twenty-second  street  and  write  against  its  in- 
iquities for  the  columns  of  that  newspaper. 
Pastor  Boynton  stipulated  that  I  should  ac- 
company him,  as  a  recognized  worker  in  the 
slums  and  superintendent  of  the  Midnight 
Mission.  Rev.  E.  L.  Williams,  a  Methodist 
pastor,  also  accompanied  us,  with  Detectives 
Considine  and  Thomas  of  the  Chicago  police. 

As  we  went  out  I  prayed  God  to  give  us  a 
thunderbolt  to  alarm  the  people  of  Chicago. 
We  did  not  foresee  the  answer  to  this  prayer, 
but  I  have  always  felt  that  it  was  answered 
very  quickly  and  in  the  following  manner: 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
May  31,  we  entered  a  resort  on  Dearborn 
street,  whose  former  owner  had  come  to  me  at 
midnight  to  tell  me  that  he  had  not  had  one 
happy  minute  since  he  took  up  that  terrible 
business  and  that  he  would  quit  it,  which  he 
did.  In  this  place  among  the  half-dressed  in- 
mates we  noticed  a  modestly  gowned  young 


224  WAR  ON  THE 

woman,  sitting  at  a  small  drinking  table  op- 
posite something  that  ought  to  have  been  a 
man.  The  thing's  name  was  Neil  Jaeger;  the 
girl's  name  was  Macdonald.  I  asked  the  girl 
if  she  were  an  inmate  or  leading  a  life  of  that 
sort  and  she  said  no.  She  told  me  her  true 
name  and  address  and  lied  only  about  her  age, 
as  Jaeger  had  taught  her  to  say  she  was  twen- 
ty, when  she  was  only  sixteen,  that  he  might 
sell  her  in  the  white  slave  market.  The  keep- 
er of  the  resort,  convinced  that  she  was  under 
age,  had  refused  to  deal  with  him.  When  I 
began  to  question  the  snake,  it  hissed,  "Mind 
your  own  business."  I  replied  that  this  was 
my  business,  and  asked  the  detectives  to  in- 
vestigate. Discerning  quickly  what  it  was  that 
we  had  discovered,  they  promptly  locked  the 
thing  in  an  iron  cage,  like  any  other  wild  beast. 
The  girl  was  cared  for.  Her  anxiety  was  ex- 
pressed in  her  words,  "What  will  my  mother 
say?" 

At  the  trial  of  Jaeger  before  Judge  Fake,  he 
himself  told  brazenly  how  he  had  brought  this 
young  girl  from  her  own  home  in  an  Illinois 
town,  her  mother  supposing  that  she  was  go- 
ing to  work  in  Rockford.  While  the  girl  was 
giving  her  testimony  I  heard  the  click  of  a 
camera,  to  my  sorrow — for  we  were  doing  our 
utmost  to  keep  the  girl's  secret  and  to  send  her 
quietly  to  her  mother.  More  than  half  a  mil- 
lion copies  of  her  photograph  went  out  in  the 
great  daily  papers  of  Chicago.  When  the  truth 
was  known,  other  young  girls  told  what  they 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  225 

had  escaped  by  the  capture  and  exposure  of 
this  reptile,  for  he  was  luring  several  of  them 
to  Chicago,  one  of  them  only  fifteen  years  old. 
About  half  a  million  pages  were  published  in 
the  Chicago  newspapers  at  this  time  against 
the  traffic  in  girls.  Such,  it  seemed  to  me,  was 
the  thunderbolt,  for  which  I  had  prayed. 

LETTERS  OF  A  DESTROYER  OF  GIRLS. 

In  a  letter  written  from  Rockton,  Illinois, 
on  May  27,  the  hypocrite  Jaeger  had  said  to 
one  of  his  intended  victims:  "I  have  learned 
to  love  you  as  I  never  loved  a  girl  before  and 
probably  never  will  again.  Now,  sweetheart, 
I  want  you  to  get  away  from  this  town  and 
the  life  you  are  leading  there  as  soon  as  you 
possibly  can.  When  you  are  ready  let  me 
know,  and  I  will  send  you  plenty  of  money  to 
start  out  on,  and  will  meet  you  wherever  you 
say  and  then  we  can  be  together  as  much  as 
we  please  and  can  live  happy  ever  afterward — 
that  is,  of  course,  if  you  like  me  that  well  and 
I  certainly  hope  you  do.  Be  a  good  girl  and 
God  bless  you  and  keep  you  from  harm.  Lov- 
ingly, Neil  M.  Jaeger." 

In  another  letter  he  wrote:  "From  our  last 
conversation  I  feel  determined  not  to  give  you 
up,  but  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  aid  you  to  free 
yourself  from  the  bondage  that  undermines 
your  health  and  temper  and  open  to  you  a  life 
free  from  care  and  strife,  where  you  can  go 
where,  when  and  with  whom  you  please  with- 
out being  kept  like  a  girl  in  a  convent.    Yc^r 


226  WAR  ON  THE 

natural  vivacious  and  care-free  nature  rebels 
against  the  shackles,  which  fate  has  placed  up- 
on you,  and  I  am  willing  to  give  you  physical, 
mental,  moral  and  financial  support,  to  give 
you  a  life  where  none  of  the  troubles  which  now 
harass  you  will  be  manifest,  but  instead  will 
be  a  life  where  love  will  rule  supreme.  I  will 
further  try  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  your  es- 
teem if  you  will  allow  me  to  do  something  in 
a  financial  way.  I  am  a  man  of  character,  hon- 
esty and  uprightness,  possess  an  estate  valued 
at  $50,000,  own  an  automobile  and  a  private 
yacht,  have  an  income  of  some  $2,500  a  year 
and  am  thoroughly  independent.  I  come  from 
one  of  the  best  families  in  the  west.  I  am  will- 
ing to  take  you  to  Chicago,  support  you,  and 
if  you  desire,  secure  employment  for  you  at 
Marshall  Field  &  Co.'s,  besides  taking  you  to 
dances,  theatres,  automobiling  and  yachting. 
Surely  anything  would  be  better  than  the  life 
you  are  leading  there." 

Denying  rumors  of  his  evil  character,  he 
wrote :  "I  did  not  go  to  Davis  to  see  another 
girl.  I  went  to  sign  up  some  policies  which  I 
wrote  up  there  a  couple  of  weeks  ago.  And  if 
you  heard  anything  I  said  about  you,  it  was 
some  lie  those  kids  made  up,  like  the  one  about 
the  girl  in  Davis.  I  never  spoke  to  the  girl  in 
my  life  and  probably  wouldn't  know  her  if  I 
met  her  on  the  street.  I  do  care  very  much  for 
you  and  I  love  you  much  more  than  I  profess 
and  I  don't  run  after  other  girls.  I  would  like 
to  take  you  with  me,  but  since  you  say  that  was 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  227 

impossible,  I  will  be  true  to  you.  If  you  ever 
want  to  come  to  me  I  will  send  you  the  money 
and  will  take  as  good  care  of  you  as  if  you  were 
my  own  sister." 

In  another  letter  the  wretch  complains: 
"Say,  why  did  you  tell  Effie  about  my  writing 
to  you  and  wanting  you  to  come  to  Chicago? 
Please  keep  these  things  to  yourself  if  you 
value  love."  .^h.-.  -     ^ 

Needless  to  say,  the  scoundrel  had  no  wealth, 
and  when  Judge  Fake  fined  him  two  hundred 
dollars,  all  the  punishment  our  backward  laws 
provided  at  that  time,  he  had  to  go  to  prison 
until  his  father  could  send  the  money  from  his 
home  in  the  state  of  Washington. 

The  letters  quoted  above  were  obtained  by 
Miss  Niblo,  a  missionary,  from  the  intended 
victims,  and  were  published  by  the  editor  of 
the  Freeport  Evening  Standard,  July  31, 1907. 

A  very  young  girl  who  just  escaped  this 
tiger's  claws  wrote  this  letter  of  inquiry  and 
gratitude: 

" Street. 


,  Illinois,  August  8,  1907. 

Rev.  Ernest  Bell: 

Dear  Sir: — Could  you  tell  me  if  Neil  Jaeger 
is  in  the  bridewell  yet  or  has  he  been  released? 
I  am  a  girl  that  he  tried  to  persuade  to  go  away 
with  him,  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  getting  me 
to  go.  You  have  my  heartiest  congratulations 
for  capturing  such  a  wretch. 

Yours  Truly, 

15 


228  WAR  ON  THE 

There  are  hundreds  of  such  smooth  scoun- 
drels occupied  all  the  time  in  replenishing  the 
dens  of  shame  in  Chicago.  They  travel,  to 
our  positive  knowledge,  as  far  as  Ohio  and 
Tennessee  and  in  all  the  nearer  states.  Fathers 
and  mothers  and  brothers  of  girls,  and  the  girls 
themselves,  should  be  ceaselessly  vigilant 
against  these  murderous  deceivers.  They  al- 
ways profess  to  be  in  some  legitimate  business 
and  are  apt  to  transact  some  honest  deals  as  a 
blind.  Every  city  that  keeps  up  a  red  light  dis- 
trict breeds  these  destroyers  of  girls.  Every 
divekeeper  employs  such  agents,  and  the  prin- 
cipal is  worse  than  the  employee. 

Mrs.  Charlton  Edholm,  in  her  book  "Trafi&c 
in  Girls,"  writes  the  following  confession  made 
to  her  by  a  converted  bartender:  "Mrs.  Ed- 
holm,  I  believe  I  am  a  converted  man  now,  and 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  accepted  me 
and  I  will  dwell  with  him  forever,  but  when  I 
realize  how  many  girls  I  have  sent  to  houses 
of  shame,  I  wonder  if  God  ever  can  forgive  me, 
and  I  would  give  my  life  if  I  could  undo  it. 

"When  I  was  a  bartender  for  years  in  a  sa- 
loon with  wine  rooms,  these  procurers  used  to 
come  there,  and  often  I've  seen  one  of  these 
men  bring  a  beautiful  girl  to  the  ladies'  en- 
trance, and  of  course  he  would  try  to  get  her  to 
drink  wine  or  beer,  but  oftentimes  having  been 
Drought  up  in  a  Christian  home,  or  having 
signed  the  total  abstinence  pledge  in  the  Sun- 
day school, — ^for  you  W.  C.  T.  U,  women  have 
done  so  much  for  the  children  by  having  tern- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  22g 

perance  taught  in  the  day  schools  and  Sunday 
schools, — and  she  would  refuse  to  touch  the 
wine  or  beer,  then  he  would  wink  at  me,  and  I 
knew  that  meant  an  extra  dollar  for  me,  and  I 
would  drop  a  little  drug  into  whatever  that 
girl  had  to  eat  or  drink,  and  in  a  few  moments 
she  would  be  unconscious  and  that  fellow 
would  have  a  carriage  drive  to  the  door,  that 
girl  would  be  placed  in  it  and  driven  straight 
to  a  haunt  of  shame;  he  would  receive  his 
twenty-five  or  fifty  dollars,  and  that  girl  would 
be  as  surely  lost  as  if  the  earth  had  opened  and 
swallowed  her.  Hundreds  of  times  I've  done 
this,  and,  Mrs.  Edholm,  do  you  think  God  can 
forgive  me?" 

Young  men,  and  older  men,  who  patronize 
houses  of  shame  should  be  made  to  see  and  feel 
that  all  this  hellish  traffic  goes  on  at  their  in- 
stance and  at  their  expense.  The  keepers  and 
procurers  are  the  paid  agents  of  the  men  who 
foot  the  bill.  Every  dollar,  with  the  burning 
name  of  God  upon  it,  that  any  man  spends 
there  makes  him  a  stockholder  in  the  white 
slave  market  and  a  partner  in  the  traffic  in 
girls.  The  men  who  support  the  hideous  busi- 
ness are  the  ultimate  white  slave  traders,  and 
when  their  hired  men,  the  divekeepers  and 
procurers,  come  to  judgment  and  condemna- 
tion, the  men  who  supported  them  in  crime 
will  be  arraigned  beside  them  and  punished 
with  them. 


230  WAR  ON  THE 

PERIL  OF  STAGE-STRUCK  GIRLS. 

The  corruption  of  the  present  day  theatre  is 
generally  admitted.  Archbishop  Farley,  in  a 
sermon  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York, 
on  Sunday,  February  7,  1909,  said  that  "the 
stage  is  worse  today  then  it  was  in  the  days  of 
paganism."  He  added:  "We  see  today  men 
and  women — old  men  and  old  women — ^who 
ought  to  know  better  bringing  the  young  to 
these  orgies  of  obscenity.  Instead  of  that  they 
should  be  exercising  a  supervision  over  the 
young  and  should  look  carefully  after  their 
companionship." 

Actresses  of  character  are  among  the  fore- 
most to  warn  young  women  of  the  perils  of  the 
modern  stage.  Shakespeare  and  the  older 
dramatists  taught  virtue,  often  with  the  spirit 
and  energy  of  a  prophet.  Multitudes  of  pres- 
ent day  plays  are  of  such  moral  character  and 
tendency  that  no  one  can  defend  or  excuse 
them.  President  Taft  recently  walked  out  of 
a  theatre  to  express  his  disapproval  of  the  play. 

Low  theatres  exist  merely  to  inflame  those 
who  visit  them.  They  go  to  the  awful  length 
of  naming  the  vice  district  as  part  of  the  merri- 
ment of  the  performances.  Other  so-called 
theatres  are  a  part  of  the  combined  saloon  and 
den  of  shame.  I  have  conversed  personally 
many  times  with  girls  who  were  deceived  into 
going  to  such  places,  thinking  they  were  going 
on  the  reputable  stage. 

Mr.  Arthur  Burrage  Farwell,  Chicago's  well- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  231 

known  reformer,  here  tells  briefly  the  story  of 
two  young  girls,  whom  I  have  often  met  in 
his  office,  who  were  lured  by  a  false  theatrical 
agency  to  go  to  a  vile  resort.  The  agency  of 
a  wicked  woman,  or  two  of  them,  will  be  noted 
in  this  case,  along  with  the  base  deeds  of  an 
unscrupulous  man.  The  keen  eyes  and  wise 
head  of  a  good  hearted  Scotch  woman  saved 
the  girls  from  a  terrible  doom.  Mr.  Farwell 
writes  as  follows: 

"About  December  i,  1907, 1  received  a  spec- 
ial delivery  letter  from  the  managing  editor  of 
one  of  the  oldest  daily  papers  in  Springfield, 
Illinois,  informing  me  that  two  girls  had  been 
sent  back  to  Chicago  and  suggesting  that  the 
police  department  be  informed  of  the  facts.  I 
immediately  communicated  with  the  assistant 
general  superintendent  of  police,  Hon.  Herman 
F.  Schuettler,  and  the  girls  were  located.  The 
theatrical  agent  who  had  sent  them  from  Chi- 
cago was  arrested  and  work  was  started 
against  some  of  the  evil  practices  of  false  the- 
atrical agents. 

Taking  the  story  from  the  girls  and  from 
their  testimony  in  court,  it  is  as  follows: 
These  two  girls  worked  in  a  large  department 
store  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  One  of  them  was 
approached  one  day  by  a  well-dressed  woman 
who  requested  the  judgment  of  this  young  lady 
upon  some  material  to  be  used  in  theatrical 
work.  The  result  was  that  this  woman  gave 
the  name  of  a  theatrical  agent  and  told  the  girl 
that  she  cm^M  make  $25.00  a  week  by  going  on 


232  WAR  ON  THE 

the  stage,  as  she  had  a  good  voice,  etc.,  etc. 

This  girl  spoke  to  another  friend,  working 
in  the  same  store,  and  together  they  called  up- 
on this  theatrical  agent  whose  name  was  given 
them  by  the  woman.  After  being  taken  to  a 
saloon,  an  attempt  being  made  to  compromise 
them,  they  were  given  tickets  to  the  city  where 
they  were  supposed  to  go  upon  the  stage. 
They  reached  the  city  and  providentially  were 
guided  to  a  boardinghouse  of  a  Scotch  woman 
who  lived  next  door  to  the  alleged  theatre, 
which  proved  to  be  a  saloon  in  the  front  and  a 
vaudeville  in  the  rear  and  upstairs  a  most  awful 
place. 

The  proprietor  of  the  alleged  theatre  de- 
clined to  employ  the  young  ladies  unless  they 
would  stay  in  the  rooms  over  the  saloon  or 
theatre.  On  the  advice  of  the  Scotch  woman 
they  declined  to  stay  over  the  theatre,  and  the 
woman  furnished  them  tickets  and  they  re^ 
turned  to  Chicago. 

The  preliminary  hearing  of  the  People  vs. 
was  held  in  the  Municipal  Court  of  Chi- 
cago before  Judge  Wells,  January  14,  1908, 
and  lasted  about  five  days,  and  twenty-seven 
witnesses  were  heard,  the  testimony  covering 

373  pages.     The  theatrical  agent ,  was 

held  to  the  grand  jury.  His  license  to  operate 
a  theatrical  agency  was  revoked  by  the  state. 

The  sworn  testimony  showed  a  condition 
of  affairs  that  would  be  a  disgrace  to  the  most 
ignorant,  vicious  and  debased  people.  That 
such  things  are  allowed  in  a  republic  where  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  233 

people  rule,  as  were  allowed  in  Springfield  and 
in  other  cities,  is  a  sad  commentary  upon  the 
average  indifference  of  the  authorities  and  the 
people,  which  should  be  called  criminal  indiff- 
erence. 

The  theatrical  agent  and  one  of  the  owners 
of  the  property  in  Springfield  were  indicted  for 
conspiracy,  but  in  the  criminal  court  these 
charges  were  not  sustained. 

The  two  girls  were  living  with  a  woman  and 
one  day  when  they  were  needed  as  witnesses 
it  was  found  they  were  not  there.  A  letter  with 
no  signature  was  received  by  the  president  of 
the  Chicago  Law  and  Order  League,  inform- 
ing him  that  the  two  girls  were  living  under 
assumed  names  in  Milwaukee,  and  immediately 
representatives  of  the  Chicago  Law  and  Order 
League  and  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  went  to 
Milwaukee  and  found  the  girls  and  brought 
them  back. 

The  men  who  were  responsible  for  sending 
these  state's  witnesses  away  were  indicted  and 
were  found  guilty  and  the  woman  re-indicted. 

The  expense  in  this  one  case  to  the  Chicago 
Law  and  Order  League  and  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois was  probably  not  less  than  $2,000. 

If  the  young  girls  who  are  seeking  a  living 
upon  the  stage  could  know  of  the  pitfalls  that 
are  in  their  way,  I  believe  many  of  them  would 
seek  other  employment.  One  of  the  girls  is 
now  married  and  living  very  happily. 
Arthur  Burrage  Farwell, 
President  Chicago  Law  and  Order  League.*' 

E.  A.  B. 


234  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PROCURESSES  AND  THE  CONFESSION 
OF  ONE  OF  THEM. 

Here  is  a  story  from  the  London  Times, 
which  might  easily  be  repeated  in  the  New 
York  Herald  or  the  Chicago  Tribune: 

"I  was  standing  on  a  railway  platform  at 

with  a  friend  waiting  for  a  train,  when  two 
ladies  came  into  the  station.  I  was  acquainted 
with  one  of  them,  the  younger,  well.  She  told 
me  she  was  going  to  London,  having  been  for- 
tunate enough  to  get  a  liberal  engagement  as 
governess  in  the  family  of  the  lady  under  whose 
charge  she  then  was,  and  who  had  even  taken 
the  trouble  to  come  into  the  country  to  see  her 
and  her  friends,  to  ascertain  that  she  was  likely 
in  all  respects  to  suit.  The  train  coming  in 
sight,  the  fares  were  paid,  the  elder  lady  pay- 
ing both.  I  saw  them  into  the  car,  and  the  door 
being  closed,  I  bowed  to  them  and  rejoined  my 
friend,  who  happened  to  be  a  London  man 
about  town.  *Well,  I  will  say,'  said  he,  *you 
country  gentlemen  are  pretty  independent  of 
public  opinion.  You  are  not  ashamed  of  your 
little  transactions  being  known!'  What  do 
you  mean?'  I  asked.  *Why,  I  mean  your  talk- 
ing to  that  girl  and  her  duenna  on  an  open 
platform/   *  Why,  that  is  Miss ,  an  intimate 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  235 

friend  of  ours/  *Well,  then,  I  can  tell  you/ 
said  the  Londoner  to  me  coolly,  *her  friend  is 

Madam ,  one  of  the  most  noted  procuresses 

in  London,  and  she  has  got  hold  of  a  new  vic- 
tim, if  she  is  a  victim,  and  no  mistake/  I  saw 
there  was  not  a  minute  to  lose;  I  rushed  to  the 
guard  of  the  train  and  got  him  to  wait  a  mom- 
ent.   I  then  hurried  to  the  car  door  where  the 

ladies  were.    *Miss ,  you  must  get  out ;  that 

person  is  an  unfit  companion  for  you.    Madam 

,  we  know  who  you  are.'    That  one  victim 

was  rescued,  but  how  many  are  lost?" 

With  "Prisoner  Number  503,"  whose  story 
follows,  I  have  conversed  personally  and  I  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  her  story  is  true. 
It  surprised  me  to  hear  her  say  that  she  was 
and  is  a  member  of  a  Baptist  church,  with  an 
implication  in  her  words  and  manner  that 
members  of  other  churches  are  not  quite  so  safe 
as  members  of  her  denomination.  Her  story 
was  published  January  28,  1909.  She  was 
brought  to  justice  by  the  Chicago  Law  and 
Order  League. 

BY  PRISONER  NUMBER  503. 

I  am  writing  this  message  to  the  readers  of 
The  National  Prohibitionist  and  to  the  world 
from  behind  the  bars  in  that  gloomy  pile  of 
buildings  alongside  the  Drainage  Canal,  where 
Chicago  every  year  spends  some  millions  of 
dollars  to  protect  herself  from  the  criminal 
classes  which  she  constantly  creates  and 
breeds. 


236  WAR  ON  THE 

It  may  shock  the  respectable  people  who 
read  these  lines  to  find  that  their  author  is  an 
imprisoned  criminal.  I  lay  emphasis  on  the 
word  "imprisoned,"  because  my  not  very  long 
experience  with  the  world  has  taught  me  that 
violation  of  the  law  is  not  particularly  offensive 
to  the  mass  of  the  world's  inhabitants  so  long 
as  it  is  not  attended  with  the  "pains  and  pen- 
alties" that  are  prescribed  for  the  law's  viola- 
tion. 

I  may  as  well  shock  my  readers  still  more  at 
once  by  the  frank  confession  that  I  am  in  prison 
convicted  of  being  what  is  commonly  known 
as  a  "white  slave  trader"  and  I  was  justly  con- 
victed and  was  guilty  of  the  offense  charged. 

And  having  made  this  confession,  let  me  in- 
troduce myself. 

Behold  me,  a  very  common  sort  of  a  woman, 
twenty-nine  years  old,  an  ex-schoolteacher, 
bom  and  piously  brought  up  in  the  good  state 
of  Arkansas,  fairly  well  educated,  and,  until 
within  the  last  few  months,  almost  wholly  in- 
experienced in  the  ways  of  the  wicked  world. 

Six  years  ago,  in  my  Arkansas  home,  I  mar- 
ried a  man  whom  I  believed  to  be  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  respect  and  love  that  I  gave  him 
and,  bidding  goodby  to  my  mother  and  my 
childhood  friends  in  the  old  home,  went  with 
him  to  St.  Louis. 

I  wonder  if  the  good  men  who  let  the  saloons 
flourish  in  all  our  cities  and  excuse  themselves 
with  the  assertion  that  if  a  man  will  drink  it 
is  his  own  business,  and  if  he  makes  a  fool  of 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  237 

himself,  he  is  the  only  one  that  suffers — I  won- 
der if  those  men  really  know  what  they  are 
doing  for  thousands  of  women  who  do  not 
drink  but  who  SUFFER? 

Years  ago,  somewhere  I  read  an  article  about 
the  saloons  written  by  some  great  minister  or 
bishop,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  and,  in- 
deed, I  have  forgotten  most  of  what  he  said, 
but  I  remember  he  did  say  that  the  victims  of 
the  saloon  are  willing  victims. 

Great  God!  I  have  been  a  victim  and  God 
knows  that  I  never  was  willing ! 

I  found  that  my  husband  was  a  drunkard.  A 
railroad  man  with  a  good  "job,"  able  to  earn 
a  comfortable  living  for  himself  and  me;  he 
never  for  a  day  could  be  depended  upon.  Many 
a  morning  did  he  kiss  me  goodby,  leaving  me 
the  impression  that  he  had  gone  to  his  work, 
when  it  would  be  three  days,  a  week,  a  month, 
sometimes  three  months  before  I  saw  or  heard 
from  him  again,  though  I  migfht  be  in  the  sorest 
straits  for  the  necessities  of  life.  Three  times 
he  did  this  when  he  knew  that  I  was  soon  to  be- 
come a  mother.  Once,  after  three  months' 
absence,  I  heard  from  him  in  a  hospital  in  an- 
other city.  I  went  to  him,  nursed  him,  brought 
him  home  and  when  he  was  able  to  work,  gave 
him  out  of  my  own  earnings  money  to  pay  his 
board  until  payday  (for  his  work  would  oblige 
him  to  board  in  another  town)  and  he  went 
away  and  I  never  saw  him  again  for  months. 

Forced  to  work  for  a  living,  I  came  to  Chi- 
cago, finding  a  position  in  a  legitimate  busi- 


238  WAR  ON  THE 

ness,  although,  unfortunately,  it  was  the  sort 
of  a  business  that  brought  me  into  contact  with 
many  people  of  bad  morals,  and  tended  to  de- 
teriorate my  own  moral  ideals. 

Here  in  Chicago,  while  I  was  buying  a  rail- 
road ticket  one  day  in  a  ticket  broker's  office, 
I  was  introduced  by  the  clerk  to  a  man  who 
appeared  to  be  a  gentleman,  with  the  sugges- 
tion that  he  would  be  willing  to  do  for  me  a 
slight  service  which  I  needed  at  the  moment, 
regarding  my  baggage.  A  few  weeks  after, 
this  man,  whom  I  had  no  reason  to  suspect  of 
any  evil  motive,  sought  me  with  the  offer  of  a 
good  place  to  work.  He  promised  me  a  good 
salary,  and  the  offer  was  specially  attractive  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  I  was  then  without  work, 
and  I  accepted  the  place  in  perfect  good  faith. 

I  want  to  emphasize  what  I  now  say  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  may  read  these  lines  who 
are  parents  of  young  girls. 

I  suppose  I  may  claim  to  be  a  reasonably  in- 
telligent woman,  with  a  fair  education,  some 
years  of  observation  of  the  world  and  a  little 
opportunity  to  know  of  the  world's  wickedness, 
but  I  was  at  that  time  absolutely  ignorant  of 
the  existence  of  such  a  thing  as  a  business  in 
vice. 

I  had  never  heard  that  girls  were  bought  and 
sold. 

I  did  not  know  the  character  of  what  are 
called  "disorderly  houses." 

It  seems  to  me  that  good  people,  pious 
fathers  and  mothers,  who  let  their  girls  grow 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  239 

up  and  go  out  into  the  world  without  a  word 
of  real  instruction  that  will  protect  them  in 
such  crises  which  may  come  in  life  to  any  wom- 
an, are  not  wholly  innocent — I  am  tempted 
to  say  are  frightfully  guilty  of  the  destruction 
of  their  own  daughters. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  and  to  tell  a 
hideous  tale  in  a  few  very  plain  words,  I  ac- 
cepted the  proposition  and  found  myself  in- 
stalled in  one  of  the  protected  vice  dens  of 
Chicago  as  housekeeper  and  the  special  per- 
sonal slave  of  this  man,  whom  I  now  found  to 
be  a  slave  trader,  the  practical  owner  of  other 
women  and  girls  in  various  dives,  as  well  as 
the  driver  of  gangs  of  procurers.  This  man 
almost  owned  me.  My  salary — such  small 
parts  of  it  as  I  got — ^went  into  his  pocket  upon 
one  excuse  and  another,  while  I  was  subject  to 
his  brutal  will  constantly. 

I  will  not  shock  my  readers  by  telling  the  de- 
tails of  my  horrid  life  in  that  place,  but  I  must 
give  them  some  facts  that  ought  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  the  unsuspecting  decent  people  who 
sit  quietly  and  virtuously  in  their  own  homes 
while  a  slaughter  more  terrible  than  Herod 
ever  dreamed  of  goes  on  unceasingly. 

I  am  asked  to  say  whether  the  unfortunate 
girls  in  these  places  are  slaves  in  the  sense  that 
they  can  not  get  away.  My  answer  to  that 
must  depend  upon  your  interpretation  of  "can 
not." 

In  my  own  case  there  never  was  a  time  when 
I  could  not  have  walked  out  of  the  building, 


240  WAR  ON  THE 

had  I  chosen  to  do  so,  but  my  promised  salary 
was  always  in  arrears  and  I  was  penniless,  with 
nowhere  to  go  and  no  friends. 

To  walk  out  on  a  winter's  day  into  the  streets 
of  Chicago,  with  nothing  with  which  to  buy 
a  meal  and  no  shelter  and  no  friend  under  the 
wide,  pitiless  sky,  is  a  heroic  course  to  which 
some  resolute  Spartan  matron  might  be  driven 
in  protection  of  her  virtue,  but  it's  a  course 
which  can  hardly  be  expected  from  a  mis- 
treated, deluded,  ignorant,  disgraced,  modem 
American  girl. 

And  it  must  be  understood  that  my  situat- 
tion  was  very  different  from  that  of  the  "girls." 
I  was  in  the  position  of  a  superintendent. 
They  were  under  me.  What  would  have  been 
possible  for  me  was  practically  impossible  for 
them. 

To  begin  with :  No  inmate  of  these  vice  dens 
is  allowed  to  have  clothing  with  which  she 
could  appear  on  the  street.  It  is  taken  away 
from  her  by  fraud  or  by  force,  as  soon  as  she 
arrives,  and  is  locked  up.  She  never  sees  it 
again  until  she  is  regarded  as  thoroughly  trust- 
worthy and  sure  to  come  back  if  she  does  get 
out. 

Then,  too,  she  is  in  debt.  As  soon  as  she 
arrives  at  the  house,  an  account  is  opened  with 
her,  although,  perhaps,  she  never  sees  the 
books.  She  is  charged  with  the  railroad  fare 
that  has  been  paid  to  bring  her  to  the  city;  she 
is  charged  with  the  price  that  was  paid  for  her 
to  the  thief  who  betrayed  and  stole  her;  she  is 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  241 

charged  for  the  alleged  garments  that  are 
given  her  in  exchange  for  her  clothing — 
charged  four  times  the  price  that  they  cost. 

Of  course,  the  police  will  tell  you  nowadays 
that  the  old  debt  system  has  been  abolished, 
and  that  girls  are  not  allowed  to  be  in  debt  to 
the  house  where  they  are  kept,  and  it  may  be 
that  a  sort  of  fiction  is  maintained,  by  which,  if 
an  investigation  were  forced,  the  divekeeper 
would  pretend  to  be  an  agent  for  the  store- 
keeper that  sells  the  supplies.  But  the  con- 
dition of  debt  is  none  the  less  real,  although  as 
always  it  be  fraudulent.  The  divekeeper,  the 
storekeeper  and  the  police  are  all  partnership 
in  it. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  lawful  to  keep  a  girl  a 
prisoner  because  she  happens  to  be  in  debt,  but 
she  is  made  to  believe  that  it  is.  She  is  told 
strange  stories  about  laws  that  are  enacted  for 
the  government  of  her  "class,"  and  she  recog- 
nizes, all  too  plainly,  the  power  of  the  arm  of 
the  police  always  outstretched  in  behalf  of  the 
divekeeper. 

Police  officers  come  and  go  in  the  dive.  They 
register  all  "inmates"  upon  arrival  and  give 
formal,  though,  of  course,  unlawful  sanction 
to  the  business.  If  a  girl  becomes  refractory 
and  the  divekeeper  threatens  her  with  the  ven- 
geance of  the  police,  she  has  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  threat  is  well  founded,  whether 
it  is  or  not. 

Xf ,  in  spite  of  all  this,  a  girl  should  be  brave 
enough  or  rash  enough  to  try  to  make  her  way 


242  WAR  ON  THE 

out  of  the  dive,  and  escape,  almost  nude,  as  she 
is  kept,  into  the  street,  perhaps  she  would  be 
allowed  to  go.  Perhaps,  too,  the  police  might 
not  bring  her  back,  but  they  certainly  would 
not  assist  her  escape;  and  if  they  did  not  force 
her  back  into  the  den  from  which  she  had 
escaped  they  would  certainly  send  her  to 
prison. 

I  have  seen  dozens  of  girls  who  wanted  to 
get  out  from  these  dives,  wanted  to  leave  the 
life  that  they  were  living,  but  who,  under  the 
conditions  that  I  have  enumerated,  did  not — I 
think  I  may  fairly  say — could  not  do  it. 

I  had  been  in  my  position  as  housekeeper 
but  a  little  while  when  my  owner  discovered 
that  I  could  be  profitably  employed  in  another 
line,  that  is,  in  importing  slaves  from  other 
cities. 

Some  months  before,  the  firm  for  which  I 
was  then  working  had  sent  me  to  Milwaukee 
to  sell  toilet  preparations,  and  this  business 
had  brought  me  in  contact  with  a  considerable 
number  of  foolish  young  women.  I  knew  that 
some  of  them  were  anxious  to  come  to  Chi- 
cago and  I  was  sent  to  Milwaukee  to  induce 
them  to  come  and  bring  them  with  me. 

I  made  several  such  journeys  to  Milwaukee 
and  other  cities,  bringing  a  number  of  victims 
for  Chicago's  slave  market.  I  attempt  no  de- 
fense for  this  infamous  work.  I  ask  for  no 
moderation  of  judgment  against  me,  but  I  feel 
that  I  have  a  right  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
public  to  the  glaring  injustice  of  the  situation 


^A 


\ 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  243 

that  puts  me  behind  these  bars,  with  long 
months  of  imprisonment  before  me,  and  leaves 
others  who  were  equally  guilty  with  me,  and 
who  are  equally  well  known  in  their  guilt,  to 
go  on  with  their  wicked  work. 

I  know  that  ignorance  of  law  is  no  excuse 
for  its  violation,  but  I  was  certainly  ignorant 
that  I  was  breaking  any  law.  I  never  dreamed 
of  it  until,  just  before  my  arrest,  the  proprie- 
tress of  one  of  the  houses  from  which  a  girl 
whom  I  had  brought  to  the  city  had  run  away, 
told  me  of  my  danger.  I  asked  her  why  she 
was  not  also  in  danger,  and  she  replied  that  it 
was  because  she  carefully  followed  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  police  and  maintained  an  ignorance 
concerning  the  sources  from  which  the  girls 
were  brought  who  came  to  her  house. 

I  may  or  may  not  be  believed,  but  I  state  the 
truth  when  I  say  that  I  never  brought  to  this 
slavery  a  girl  whom  I  believed  to  be  an  inno- 
cent girl.  I  brought  only  girls  whom  I  found 
in  bad  surroundings,  usually  in  disorderly 
saloons,  and  girls  who  claimed  to  be  and  ap- 
peared to  be  beyond  the  protection  of  that  ex- 
tremely virtuous  law,  which  our  wise  law- 
makers have  given  us,  known  as  the  "age  of 
consent"  law.  How  any  sane  person  must 
hate  such  cursed  nonsense  as  such  a  law ! 

Now,  let  me  ask  why — ^why,  when  I  was  sent 
as  a  mere  agent  of  others,  when  I  brought  girls 
from  well-known  dens  where  they  had  been 
ruined,  brought  them  into  a  recognized  slave 
market,  delivered  them  to  well-known  slave 

19 


244  WAR  ON  THE 

owners,  where  they  were  used  to  enrich  their 
owners  and  the  police — ^why,  while  the  slave 
market  goes  on  and  while  the  slave  owners 
drive  their  new  gangs,  and  while  the  police 
keep  up  their  system  of  protection  and  graft — 
WHY  AM  I  LOCKED  UP  HERE  ALONE? 

Now,  let  me  make  it  perfectly  clear  on  just 
what  ground  I  have  been  sentenced  to  prison. 
I  was  convicted  under  what  is  known  as  the 
"pandering  act,"  which  makes  it  an  offense  to 
secure  an  inmate  for  a  disorderly  resort  in  the 
state  of  Illinois. 

I  was  guilty  and  the  protest  I  make  is  the 
protest  of  a  convict,  but  I  cry  out  to  the  good 
people  to  know  why,  if  I  must  be  behind  prison 
walls  for  procuring  an  inmate  for  such  a  place, 
they  walk  free  and  grow  rich  and  hold  offices 
who  allow  such  places  to  be. 

IF  IT  BE  A  CRIME  WORTHY  OF  THE 
PRISON  TO  PROCURE  AN  INMATE  FOR 
A  VICE  RESORT,  IS  IT  A  SURE  PROOF 
OF  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  VIRTUE 
THAT  VICE  RESORTS  COVER  SQUARE 
MILES  OF  THIS  CITY  AND  THE  CITY 
GOVERNMENT  "REGULATES"  THEM? 

Ten  long  months  hence,  when,  broken,  dis* 
graced,  without  a  cent,  without  a  friend,  they 
turn  me  out  into  Chicago's  cold  November 
storms,  will  justice  have  been  vindicated,  will 
some  great  and  good  ends  have  been  attained 
by  the  punishment  of  me — a  tool,  a  cat's-paw- 
while  seven  thousand  saloons  and  square  miles 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  245 

of  houses  of  prostitution  have  gone  on  in  their 
bloody,  damning  work  under  sanction  of  the 
government  run  by  you  pious  men? 

E.  A.  B. 


246  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WANTED— FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS. 

After  conversing  with  many  thousands  of 
fallen  women  and  misguided  girls,  I  believe 
that  the  principal  causes  of  their  downfall  are 
the  following,  in  the  order  named: 

1.  Parental  inefficiency,  through  lack  of 
character,  knowledge  or  vigilance. 

2.  Amusements  that  pander  to  passion, 
such  as  many  theaters,  some  of  the  amusement 
parks,  cafes  and  dance  halls  with  drinking  at- 
tachments, some  Chinese  restaurants,  some 
Greek  and  other  fruit  and  candy  stores,  and 
some  pleasure  boats  that  run  at  night. 

3.  Unsafe  hours  and  unreasonable  liberty; 
walks,  drives  and  automobile  rides,  unattend- 
ed, especially  at  night. 

4.  Betrayal  of  girls  and  desertion  by  hus- 
bands. 

5.  Wilfulness  and  love  of  ease  and  finery. 

6.  Insufficient  wages  in  stores  and  facto- 
ries. 

7.  Poverty,  especially  where  children  or 
parents  are  dependent.  One  girl  sinned  to  pay 
her  mother's  funeral  expenses. 

8.  A  few  are  depraved  from  choice  or  hered- 
ity. 

Doubtless  other  observers  would  add  other 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  247 

causes,  and  yet  others  would  put  these  eight 
causes  here  named  in  different  order.  But  no 
one  will  dispute  that  these  eight  are  constant 
and  fruitful  causes  of  the  ruin  of  girls — these 
eight,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  first, 
Parental  Inefficiency. 

SIXTEEN- YEAR-OLD  GIRLS  GO 
WRONG. 

Within  the  last  six  days — it  is  August  10, 
1909,  today — the  courts  of  Chicago  have  had 
to  deal  with  two  girls  of  only  sixteen  years  who 
were  placed  in  immoral  resorts  by  young  men, 
one  of  them  only  a  boy  of  sixteen  years. 

A  girl  named  McConnell,  only  sixteen  years 
old,  and  a  girl  named  Shubert,  three  years  old- 
er, were  taken  by  two  Jews,  Brodsky  and 
Jacobson,  to  a  resort  kept  by  one  Weinstein  in 
South  Chicago.  The  girls  were  lured  from  an 
amusement  park  in  the  suburb  of  Forest  Park, 
where  they  were  unattended  by  parents  or 
friends — fair  game  for  the  white  slaver. 

Judge  Walker  in  pronouncing  sentence  up- 
on Brodsky,  who  was  fined  $300  and  sent  six 
months  to  the  house  of  correction,  said  that 
Brodsky's  wife  and  child  and  his  confession  of 
his  crime  stood  between  him  and  the  extreme 
penalty  of  the  new  law  of  Illinois  against  pan- 
dering. 

"Pandering,"  said  the  judge  to  the  prisoner, 
"is  a  most  abhorrent  crime.  A  man  of  your  at- 
tainments has  sunk  to  the  lowest  depths  when 
he  hangs  about  parks  seekin^r  tp  betray  inno- 


248  WAR  ON  THE 

cent  girls.  A  murder  may  be  forgotten  or  the 
grief  lessened,  but  the  living  death  to  which 
you  sought  to  lead  these  girls  is  far  worse  than 
for  their  friends  to  have  placed  them  in  a  black 
box  and  hauled  them  to  the  cemetery." 

No  words  of  judge  or  moralist  are  too  strong 
to  condemn  the  procurer  and  his  master,  the 
divekeeper.  But  what  must  be  the  feelings  of 
the  father  and  mother  who  thoughtlessly  leave 
their  young  daughters  exposed  to  these  ser- 
pents? A  mother  bird  is  more  watchful  of  her 
chicks  or  a  cat  of  her  kittens. 

Only  last  Sunday  afternoon  Charles  Kauf- 
man, sixteen  years  old,  of  Milwaukee,  was  ar- 
rested by  Detectives  Magner  and  Dolan  in  Chi- 
cago for  placing  a  sixteen-year-old  Chicago 
girl,  named  Schwartz,  in  a  resort  in  Milwaukee. 
He  had  lured  her  from  her  home,  where  he  had 
been  entertained  for  several  days.  Miss  Mol- 
lie  Schwartz,  sister  of  the  girl,  said  that  Kauf- 
man had  beaten  and  threatened  to  kill  her  sis- 
ter before  he  took  her  to  Milwaukee  and  put 
her  in  the  den  of  the  white  slaver.  Kaufman 
freely  admitted  having  lured  the  girl. 

How  terrible  a  story  this  is,  involving  two 
families,  two  cities,  two  states.  What  expos- 
ure could  be  more  horrible  than  that  a  boy  of 
sixteen,  scarcely  more  than  a  child,  takes  a 
child  of  sixteen  to  another  city  and  receives 
money  for  leaving  her  in  a  place  of  infamy? 

But  what  must  the  father  and  mother  of  such 
a  boy  and  the  father  and  mother  of  such  a  girl, 
think  of  themselves  and  the  way  they  have  dis- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  249 

charged  their  duty  in  bringing  up  their  chil- 
dren? 

And  what  must  our  cities  think  of  them- 
selves while  they  maintain  red  light  districts 
to  promote  such  crimes? 

In  winter  the  dance  halls  and  in  summer  the 
amusement  parks,  and  all  the  year  long  thea- 
ters and  drinking  resorts  of  all  kinds,  are  very 
dangerous  for  young  girls.  At  one  time  the 
superintendent  of  the  Illinois  Training  School 
for  Girls,  at  Geneva,  found  that  eighty-seven 
per  cent  of  her  girls  attributed  their  first  wrong 
steps  to  temptations  such  as  these. 

Every  good  man  and  woman  must  do  his  or 
her  whole  duty  against  the  hideous  traffic  in 
girlhood.  Preachers,  editors,  teachers,  physi- 
cians and  rulers,  being  natural  leaders  of  the 
people,  have  very  great  responsibility.  But  all 
else  will  follow  if  this  end  be  gained — Parental 
Efficiency. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  the  splendid  ed- 
itorial of  Forrest  Crissey  in  Woman's  World 
for  August,  1909. 

SUMMER:  THE  SILLY  SEASON. 

Did  you  ever  notice  that,  as  the  heat  of  mid- 
summer opens  up  the  pores,  the  youthful  hu- 
man seems  to  become  exposed  to  curious  and 
violent  attacks  of  sentimentality?  It's  a  fact. 
All  the  world  recognizes  that  the  Summer  Girl 
is  especially  a  prey  to  this  insidious  complaint; 
that  no  matter  how  modest,  reserved  and  cir- 
cumspect she  may  be  as  a  Winter  Girl,  when 


250  WAR  ON  THE 

she  breaks  her  Summer  chrjrealis  all  the  butter- 
fly nature  within  her  is  given  wing,  inward  and 
outward  restraints  drop  from  her  almost  as  in- 
evitably as  her  cold  weather  clothing,  and  she 
lets  herself  dance  along  on  the  soft  breeze  of 
sentiment  with  the  lightness  and  freedom  of 
a  bit  of  thistledown. 

This  odd  Summer  bewitchment  might  be  im- 
mensely funny  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  its 
consequences,  in  thousands  of  cases,  are  seri- 
ous, not  to  say  tragic.  The  comic  papers  de- 
pend upon  this  dog-day  epidemic  of  silliness 
as  an  unfailing  source  of  excruciatingly  amus- 
ing jokes  and  pictures.  Summer  resort  and 
seashore  flirtations — ^what  would  the  "comics" 
do  without  them  when  the  mercury  creeps  high 
in  the  slender  tube  of  the  thermometer? 

In  the  language  of  the  sportsman,  the  Sum- 
mer is  everywhere  recognized  as  the  "open  sea- 
son" for  the  hunting  of  hearts  and  the  pursuit 
of  romance.  The  girl  who  is  her  own  chaper- 
one  and  protector  allows  herself  a  latitude  of 
unconventionality  in  the  period  of  Summer 
outings,  of  vacations  and  excursions,  of  moon- 
shine and  frolic,  which  she  would  not  think  of 
permitting  herself  at  another  season.  Ro- 
mance is  in  the  air,  and  even  the  careful  and 
well-reared  girl  finds  herself  under  its  spell. 

What  is  the  result?  Thousands  of  half- 
baked  romances  ending  in  Gretna  Green  mar- 
riages are  the  invariable  harvest  of  this  season 
of  Summer  silliness;  marriages  which  bring 
suffering  and  bitter  repentance  and  a  tragic 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  251 

climax  in  the  divorce  courts — if  they  do  not 
come  to  a  worse  ending. 

Wherever  the  prow  of  an  excursion  boat 
pushes  its  way  through  the  waters,  wherever 
crowds  of  young  people  mingle  in  the  pursuit 
of  pleasure,  there  are  hatched  the  romances 
which  spell  heartbreak  and  unhappiness.  Every 
Summer  furnishes  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  these  cases.  They  are  "down  in  the  books" 
— one  entry  in  the  books  at  the  Gretna  Green, 
the  runaway  marriage  headquarters,  and  the 
other  in  the  divorce  courts. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  darker  side  to  this 
matter  of  Summer  silliness.  Not  long  ago,  in 
the  Woman's  World,  Mrs.  Ophelia  L.  Amigh, 
superintendent  of  the  Illinois  State  Training 
School  for  Girls,  at  Geneva,  Illinois,  warned 
our  readers  that  the  runaway  marriage  is  a 
favorite  trick  of  the  White  Slaver.  Mrs. 
Amigh  knows  what  she  is  talking  about  when 
she  says  this.  The  White  Slaver  haunts  the 
excursion  boat,  makes  love  to  the  girl  whose 
head  is  turned  with  silly  notions  about  roman- 
tic courtships  and  marriages;  he  takes  her  to 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  or  a  "marrying  parson" 
of  the  excursion  resort  type,  and  a  ceremony  is 
performed.  Then  they  go  to  the  big  city  and 
she  is  sold  into  a  slavery  worse  than  death! 
This  sounds  sensational,  but  it  has  happened 
so  many  times  that  it  is  a  tame  and  threadbare 
tale  to  those  who  know  the  dark  things  of 
metropolitan  life,  the  black  and  ugly  secrets 
of  the  Under  World. 


252  WAR  ON  THE 

Mothers  should  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  of 
all  times  daughters  most  need  their  strongest 
warnings  and  their  most  devoted  care  during 
the  season  of  Summer  silliness,  of  vacations 
and  excursions,  of  unconventional  meetings 
with  young  men  under  the  easy  familiarity  of 
fun  and  frolic  and  a  general  "good  time/' 
And  to  the  girl  who  has  no  mother  at  hand 
thus  to  warn  her ;  take  it  from  us  that  as  your 
own  chaperone  you  must  recognize  the  silly 
season  as  your  period  of  special  peril,  as  the 
time  when  it  is  insidiously  easy  to  relax  your 
vigilance,  to  let  down  the  protecting  bars  of 
strict  social  conventionality  and  to  give  your- 
self a  little  latitude  in  the  matter  of  "harmless 
flirtation." 

The  only  safe  way  is  to  be  just  a  little  more 
particular  about  the  acquaintances  you  form 
during  the  silly  season  than  at  any  other  time. 

E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  253 


CHAPTER   XX. 

CHICAGO'S  WHITE  SLAVE  MARKET— 
THE  "LEVEE." 

It  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to  impeach  my  city, 
but  it  is  false  patriotism  to  allow  the  crimes 
of  one's  own  country  to  go  without  rebuke. 
We  are  responsible  for  the  evil  that  we  have 
power  to  abolish.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  patriotic 
preacher  to  lash  the  sins  of  his  people  till  they 
are  lashed  out  of  existence. 

One  afternoon  last  summer  Captain  Wood 
of  the  Twenty-second  street  police  station,  who 
has  always  taken  splendid  care  of  our  mission- 
aries, told  me  that  Jesus  did  not  try  to  destroy 
the  "levee"  in  Jerusalem,  but  forgave  the  re- 
pentant woman  who  washed  his  feet  with  her 
tears.  That  evening  a  Jew  who  was  born  and 
brought  up  in  Jerusalem  came  to  help  us  in 
our  street  meeting.  I  asked  him  publicly  if 
there  is  any  "levee,"  that  is,  a  vice  district,  in 
Jerusalem.  He  said  that  the  Arabs  would  not 
tolerate  one  such  house  of  shame  but  would 
burn  it  down  before  morning. 

Mr.  Archibald  Forder,  for  seventeen  years 
a  pioneer  missionary  in  the  interior  of  Arabia, 
says  that  among  the  Arabs  this  vice  is  un- 
known—"and  a  great  big  UNKNOWN  it  is." 


254  WAR  ON  THE 

Rev.  Dr.  Spencer  Lewis,  for  many  years  a 
missionary  in  China,  said  when  he  preached 
with  us  in  midnight  Chicago,  that  even  heath- 
en China,  which  is  very  impure,  does  not  ob- 
trude vice  as  does  Chicago. 

In  New  York  City  Mayor  Low  broke  up  the 
"tenderloin"  some  years  ago,  and  though  vice 
is  shamefully  abundant  and  flagrant  in  that 
metropolis,  the  city  government  no  longer 
gives  the  white  slave  traders  a  practical  license 
to  commit  their  crimes,  by  setting  apart  a  por- 
tion of  the  city  where  they  may  operate  with 
impunity. 

In  Philadelphia,  when  three  of  us  conferred 
with  Mr.  Gibboney,  secretary  of  the  Law  and 
Order  Society,  concerning  a  proposed  explora- 
tion of  a  questionable  district,  one  of  the  ques- 
tions immediately  raised  was  how  we  might 
gain  our  liberty  if  arrested  in  a  raid  on  an 
immoral  resort  which  we  might  be  investigat- 
ing. This  was  a  vital  and  serious  question,  in 
Philadelphia.  There  vice  is  a  thousand  times 
too  abundant,  but  it  is  contemptible,  suspi- 
cious, secluded  and  afraid. 

In  Chicago  our  politicians  have  set  apart 
several  districts  for  the  traffickers  in  slaves. 
The  traders  in  girls  are  public,  bold,  defiant. 
They  feel  clean,  almost  virtuous,  after  the  city 
hall  and  a  deluded  preacher  or  two  have  given 
them  an  immunity  bath — provided  only  the 
fiction  of  segregation  is  preserved. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE    255 


MAYOR  A  COWARD. 

Mr.  Gibboney  called  the  former  mayor  of 
Philadelphia  a  coward,  because  the  mayor  ex- 
pressed his  desire  to  segregate  vicious  resorts, 
but  not  in  his  own  neighborhood — but  among 
the  poor  and  helpless.  Let  the  advocates  of 
segregation  in  Chicago  propose  to  put  these 
resorts  on  Michigan  avenue  and  Prairie  ave- 
nue, where  certain  advocates  of  this  shameful 
policy  live,  or  in  the  vicinity  of  Mayor  Busse's 
residence.  Then  we  can  at  least  believe  in  their 
sincerity  and  manliness.  But  as  it  is,  they 
curse  the  children  of  the  poor  by  protecting 
these  resorts  in  districts  where  the  poor  must 
live. 

Former  State's  Attorney  Healy  asked  for- 
mer Mayor  Dunne  why  the  Italian,  Jewish  and 
negro  children  near  Twenty-second  street  have 
not  the  same  right  to  a  decent  environment  as 
Mayor  Dunne's  own  children  in  Edgewater. 
Why  have  not  the  little  children  on  Archer 
avenue  the  same  right  to  grow  up  in  a  decent 
neighborhood,  that  the  little  girl  has  who  puts 
her  arms  around  Mayor  Busse's  neck  and  calls 
him  "Uncle  Fred"? 

A  FRIGHTENED  GIRL. 

I  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes  a  young  girl 
under  seventeen  years  of  age,  a  member  of 
Immanuel  Baptist  Church,  running  like  a 
frightened  gazelle,  to  her  home  near  Twenty- 
second  street,  to  avoid  insult  on  the  public 


256  WAR  ON  THE 

streets,  from  the  thousands  of  young  men  who 
are  encouraged  to  throng  that  district  for  im- 
moral purposes.  She  ran  to  her  home  for  this 
reason  for  three  or  four  years.  I  lifted  my 
hat  in  reverence  to  such  a  girl.  But,  Oh, 
how  I  felt  the  shame  of  the  city  and  of  the 
churches  near  her  home,  that  permitted  condi- 
tions that  put  a  good  girl  to  tests  like  this.  I 
afterward  talked  face  to  face  with  her  mother. 

GRAFT  INEVITABLE. 

Segregation  as  practised,  colonizes  and  fos- 
ters vice,  maintains  a  white  slave  market  un- 
der executive  protection,  and  provides  an  over- 
whelming temptation  and  facility  for  graft. 
Bribeless  government  cannot  exist  for  any 
considerable  time  where  these  facilities  for  cor- 
ruption are  so  assiduously  maintained.  It  is 
not  in  politicians,  or  anybody  else,  to  resist 
temptation  when  the  temptation  itself  is  pro- 
tected and  cherished. 

Nothing  is  said  by  our  officials,  or  by  the 
high  priests  of  segregation,  about  corraling 
immoral  men  into  segregation  districts.  It  is 
therefore  not  segregation  of  vice,  but  only  an 
attempted  or  pretended,  and  never  a  complete 
or  successful  cornering  of  depraved  women. 
There  are  wide  open  resorts  on  more  than 
twenty  streets  outside  of  the  big  "levee."  Seg- 
regation as  practised  is  not  a  restriction  of  vice 
so  much  as  it  is  a  practical  license  to  lawbreak- 
ers to  wreck  human  lives  and  blight  the  homes 
of  the  people,  by  corrupting  husbands  and  sons 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  257 

and  taking  captive  wives  and  daughters.  You 
would  be  astounded  to  learn  how  many  ruined 
women  are  wives  who  have  been  allured  to 
sin. 

A  MAELSTROM  FOR  YOUNG  MEN. 

Into  the  red  light  districts,  so  long  as  they 
remain,  men  and  youths  from  the  whole  city 
and  the  whole  world  are  irresistibly  drawn, 
if  only  by  curiosity.  The  "levee,"  blazing  with 
electric  lights  and  floating  in  liquor,  is  regard- 
ed by  thousands  of  visitors  as  one  of  the  chief 
sights  of  Chicago. 

When  the  Shriners,  a  Masonic  order,  held  a 
convention  here,  their  red  fezzes  and  Arabian 
symbols  were  seen  by  hundreds  in  the  "levee" 
towards  midnight.  Not  all,  perhaps  not  very 
many  of  them,  were  there  for  a  vile  purpose. 
They  were  simply  inspecting  one  of  Chicago's 
pet  institutions — not  the  cattle  market  at  the 
stockyards,  but  the  white  slave  market  in  the 
"levee." 

Cattle  men  from  Texas  and  Montana  come 
with  their  carloads  of  cattle  to  Chicago,  and 
having  disposed  of  their  stock  and  received 
their  money,  many  of  these  men  hurry  to  the 
"levee,"  of  whose  attractions  they  have  heard 
a  thousands  miles  away.  Thus  the  immorality 
and  diseases  of  the  "levee"  are  spread  over  the 
land. 

So  far  from  being  an  efficient  restriction  of 
vice,  a  red  light  district  is  the  greatest  adver- 
fisement  the  horrible  trade  can  have — and  is 

V 


258  WAR  ON  THE 

just  what  it  desires.  Every  divekeeper  and 
madam  in  Chicago  and  every  other  city,  de- 
lights in  segregation  as  practised  by  our  rulers, 
who  have  sworn  to  the  Almighty  and  con- 
tracted with  the  people  to  enforce  the  laws — 
and  draw  their  salaries  upon  this  contract  and 
this  oath, 

"Give  us  a  district  to  ourselves,"  say  all  the 
dives  with  one  mind,  and  our  obliging  execu- 
tives forthwith  bow  down  to  them  and  do  as 
they  say,  giving  these  detestable  criminals  per- 
mission to  trample  the  laws  in  the  sewers.  "To 
hell  with  the  laws"  some  of  the  divekeepers 
have  said  to  our  missionaries.  Why  not  give 
murderers,  thugs,  thieves,  gamblers,  forgers, 
a  district  where  they  may  break  the  laws,  after 
an  immunity  bath  at  City  Hall,  as  well  as  to 
the  filthy  offenders  who  promote  even  the 
crimes  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  invite  up- 
on Chicago  the  doom  of  those  cities  of  the 
plain? 

A  divekeeper  recently  paid  his  first  fine  in 
twenty  years.  For  twenty  years  this  man  had 
carried  on  his  murderous  trade  without  ever 
being  made  to  feel  even  once  that  he  is  a  crim- 
inaL  What  astounding  privilege,  in  a  city 
where  many  men  have  been  arrested  and  fined 
for  spitting  on  the  sidewalk. 

The  French  and  Japanese  importers  of  wom- 
en have  been  amazingly  exempt  from  punish- 
ment at  the  hands  of  our  local  authorities.  The 
federal  government  has  done  its  duty,  as  all 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  259 

the  world  knows.  The  work  of  Mr.  Sims  and 
his  assistants  at  Chicago  is  affecting  the  whole 
nation  and  Canada  for  good.  But  why  are  the 
wild  beasts  who  trade  in  girls  immune  from 
punishment  at  the  hands  of  our  city  and  state 
authorities? 

We  ought  to  say,  and  do  say  very  heartily, 
that  our  authorities  in  Chicago  are  beginning 
to  listen  to  the  cry  of  the  white  slaves,  native 
and  foreign.  Something  has  been  done  to  pun- 
ish procurers  and  such  like  reptilia  who  do  not 
count  in  politics.  But  the  divekeepers,  the 
buyers  and  holders  of  women,  have  not  been 
seriously  disturbed,  except  by  the  national  gov- 
ernment. 

SEGREGATION  MAKES  A  SLAVE 
MARKET. 

It  is  impossible  to  abolish  brothel  slavery 
and  to  license,  either  formally  or  practically, 
the  slave  market,  the  red  light  district.  While 
the  divekeeper  enjoys  the  indulgence  of  the 
mayor  and  the  police  and  of  their  masters,  the 
citizens,  he  will  keep  his  dive — and  his  dive 
must  be  restocked  with  new  victims,  to  make 
money  for  him,  all  the  time.  These  victims 
will  be  obtained,  as  heretofore,  by  procurers 
who  travel  city  and  country  to  trap  them,  and 
they  will  be  imported  from  Europe  and  Asia 
as  heretofore.  To  maintain  a  segregation  dis- 
trict is  to  maintain  a  slave  market,  as  things 
are, 

17 


26o  WAR  ON  THE 

Unless  we  make  energetic  and  successful 
war  upon  the  red  light  districts  and  all  that 
pertains  to  them,  we  shall  have  Oriental  broth- 
el slavery  thrust  upon  us  from  China  and  Ja- 
pan, and  Parisian  white  slavery,  with  all  its 
unnatural  and  abominable  practices,  estab- 
lished among  us  by  the  French  traders.  Jew 
traders,  too,  will  people  our  "levees"  with  Pol- 
ish Jewesses  and  any  others  who  will  make 
money  for  them. 

Shall  we  defend  our  American  civilization, 
or  lower  our  flag  to  the  most  despicable  for- 
eigners— French,  Irish,  Italians,  Jews  and 
Mongolians?  We  do  not  speak  against  them 
for  their  nationality,  but  for  their  crimes. 
American  traders  of  equal  infamy,  to  the  shame 
of  the  American  name,  have  stocked  Asiatic 
cities  with  American  girls. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast  eternal  vigilance  alone 
can  save  us  from  a  flood  of  Asiaticism,  with  its 
weak  womanhood,  its  men  of  scant  chivalry, 
its  polluting  vices  and  its  brothel  slavery.  Bu- 
bonic plague  in  San  Francisco  and  Seattle  was 
alarming.  Mongolian  brothel  slavery,  the 
Black  Death  in  morals,  is  more  alarming. 

On  both  coasts  and  throughout  all  our  cities, 
only  an  awakening  of  the  whole  Christian  con- 
science and  intelligence  can  save  us  from  the 
importation  of  Parisian  and  Polish  pollution, 
which  is  already  corrupting  the  manhood  and 
youth  of  every  large  city  in  this  nation. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  261 


MONEY  IN  VICE 

There  is  money  in  vice,  so  long  as  the  pub- 
lic conscience  sleeps  and  officials  are  chloro- 
formed with  bribes,  or  otherwise  persuaded  to 
make  it  easy  for  lawbreakers.  Frenchmen, 
Japanese,  and  Jews  know  what  a  good  rich 
market  America  is,  and  they  are  exploiting  it 
with  enterprise.  They  will  continue  to  do  so 
more  and  more,  if  pulpit  and  press  are  ignor- 
ant or  cowardly,  and  sworn  officers  of  the  law 
make  void  the  law.  Both  native  and  foreign 
exploiters  of  vice  immediately  improve  the 
facilities  afforded  by  every  wicked  or  delud- 
ed executive  who  proclaims  a  segregation  dis- 
trict. These  shrewd,  diabolical  men  quickly 
stock  the  red  light  districts  with  their  victims. 
The  traders  are  organized,  capitalized,  ready 
to  pay  for  their  privileges  to  trample  on  our 
statute  books,  our  flag,  our  Bibles,  our  homes. 

WORSE  THAN  PARIS! 

All  Europe  except  Turkey  is  organized 
against  the  traffic  in  womanhood.  Many  crim- 
inals of  this  sort  have  been  driven  out  of  Paris 
— only  to  find  a  cordial  welcome  in  the  open 
arms  of  our  deluded  if  not  debauched  officials, 
who  provide  for  them  segregation  districts  in 
this  and  other  American  cities.  Thus  our 
American  cities  become  dumps  for  the  outcast 
filth  of  Paris. 

In  our  "levee"  at  Twenty-second  street,  four- 
teen resorts  had  "Paris"  or  "Parisian"  as  part 


262  WAR  ON  THE 

of  their  signs  until  Chief  Shippy  ordered  the 
signs  removed  six  months  ago.  Numerous 
other  resorts  have  French  managers  and 
French  inmates.  Patriotic  Americans  would 
do  well  to  reflect  upon  Sedan  and  the  French 
lilies  that  withered  there,  after  trainloads  of 
women  had  rolled  out  of  Paris  to  the  French 
camp,  while  the  Germans  sang  "A  Mighty 
Fortress  is  Our  God"  and  "The  Watch  on  the 
Rhine." 

We  remember  La  Fayette  and  French  serv- 
ice for  American  liberty,  but  from  organized, 
capitalized,  cunning,  brazen,  Parisian  licen- 
tiousness in  addition  to  that  of  native  Ameri- 
cans, 

Good  Lord  deliver  us! 

About  a  score  of  resorts  in  the  same  "levee," 
all  of  them  extremely  flagrant,  are  managed  by 
Jews.  Two  or  three  places  are  managed  by 
Italian  men,  though  there  are  few  Italian  pros- 
titutes in  Chicago.  One  resort  is  controlled 
and  occupied  by  Japanese — for  American  men; 
and  several  places  contain  American  girls  for 
Chinese  men.  I  know  of  no  resorts  controlled 
by  English,  Scotch,  German  or  Scandinavian 
men. 

In  one  respect  our  American  red  light  dis- 
tricts are  worse  than  Paris.  In  Paris,  if  Dr. 
Sanger  is  right  in  his  standard  work,  "A  His- 
tory of  Prostitution,"  men  are  not  permitted 
to  manage  the  resorts.  The  unspeakable  dive- 
keeper — ^why  do  the  American  people  tolerate 
such  a  viper  as  this? 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  263 


COURTS  ARE  UNSTAINED. 

The  laws  and  the  courts  are  uniformly 
against  vice  and  against  the  men  who  exploit 
vice,  for  a  lazy  living  or  despicable  gain. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  California  is  repre- 
sentative of  all  courts  when  it  said,  in  the  case 
of  Pon  against  Wittman  in  July,  1905: 

"Under  the  Penal  Code  of  this  state,  keep- 
ing or  knowingly  letting  any  tenement  for  the 
purposes  of  prostitution,  keeping  a  house  of  ill- 
fame  resorted  to  for  the  purposes  of  prostitu- 
tion or  lewdness,  or  residing  therein,  are  crim- 
inal offenses,  and  every  person  who  lives  in  or 
about  such  houses,  and  any  common  prosti- 
tute, is  a  vagrant.  (Penal  Code,  sections  315, 
316,  647.) 

"Ordinance  No.  1587  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors of  the  city  and  county  of  San  Francisco 
also  makes  it  a  public  offense  to  maintain  such 
houses,  or  become  an  inmate  thereof  or  visitor 
thereto,  or  in  any  manner  contribute  to  their 
support. 

"These  laws  have  for  their  object  the  prohi- 
bition and  suppression  of  prostitution,  and  that 
duty  devolves,  within  the  city  and  county  of 
San  Francisco,  upon  its  police  department. 

"These  houses  are  common  or  public  nui- 
sances. Their  maintenance  directly  tends  to 
corrupt  and  debase  public  morals,  to  promote 
vice,  and  to  encourage  dissolute  and  idle  habits, 
and  the  suppression  of  nuisances  of  this  char- 


264  WAR  ON  THE 

acter  and  having  this  tendency,  is  one  of  the 
important  duties  of  government. 

"The  suppression  of  such  houses,  as  evi- 
denced by  the  stringent  laws  concerning  them, 
is  a  public  policy  of  the  state." — California  Re- 
ports, volume  147,  page  292. 

California  and  New  York  have  splendid  mod- 
ern laws  against  white  slavery  and  the  traffic 
in  women  in  its  various  forms.  Nine  states  have 
enacted  new  laws  against  these  evils  this  year. 
We  rejoice  in  these  laws,  but  they  will  never 
fully  accomplish  their  purpose  while  the  execu- 
tive officers  of  our  cities  illegally  make  void 
the  law  by  proclaiming  or  recognizing  red 
light  districts,  where  traders  are  illegally  ex- 
empted from  the  laws  and  their  penalties. 

Since  the  laws  are  good  and  the  courts  every- 
where faithful,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  laws, 
why  are  the  executive  officers  of  our  cities  so 
far  from  fulfilling  the  purpose  of  the  laws  as 
interpreted  by  the  courts?  Many  of  our  offi- 
cials clearly,  from  their  conduct,  consider  it 
"one  of  the  important  duties  of  government" 
not  to  suppress  but  to  protect,  favor  and  en- 
courage these  hideous  haunts  of  vice  and 
crime.    Why? 

TONS  OF  GRAFT. 

Doubtless  tons  of  graft  have  been  taken  from 
the  red  light  districts,  and  doubtless  more  tons 
will  be  taken  by  perjurers  and  traitors  in  public 
office.  No  one  knows  this  better  than  honest 
officials — for  there  are  many  such,  men  who 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  265 

keep  their  oath  of  office  and  conscientiously 
guard  the  great  public  interests  of  which  they 
are  trustees  and  not  traitors. 

But  the  evil  lies  deeper  than  corrupt  officials, 
and  cannot  be  eradicated  by  the  most  faithful 
officials  only — even  if  all  were  such.  Under 
our  form  of  government  officials  are  the  peo- 
ple's agents  and  must  do  what  their  masters, 
the  sovereign  people,  require  them  to  do. 

The  responsibility  is  therefore  the  people's. 
Why  do  the  sovereign  people  of  our  American 
cities  love  to  have  it  so?  Why  do  they  ap- 
prove the  red  light  districts,  the  white  slave 
market,  the  traffic  in  women  and  girls?  Or 
disapprove  too  mildly  to  abolish  them? 

THE  LIE  IN  THE  PEOPLE'S  MINDS. 

Lecky,  the  historian  of  European  morals, 
lent  his  great  name  to  a  great  delusion,  when 
he  attempted  in  a  passage  too  well  known,  to 
garland  the  prostitute  as  the  protectress  of 
pure  women.  Edwin  Arnold,  the  paganizing 
English  poet,  put  Lecky's  folly  into  verse,  writ- 
ing a  sonnet  in  praise  of  the  harlot  as  the  pur- 
est of  all  women — a  sort  of  devil's  compliment 
to  our  wives  and  mothers. 

This  immoral  and  repulsive  idea  has  a  con- 
siderable place  among  educated  men  and 
among  the  plain  people.  I  was  grieved  to  hear 
a  physician  quote  Lecky's  false  and  immoral 
statement  before  the  Physicians'  Club  of  Chi- 
cago.   The  managing  editor  of  one  of  our  de- 


266  WAR  ON  THE 

cent  and  moral  morning  papers  quoted  Lecky 
in  a  short  talk  I  had  with  hinu 

When  the  educated  and  moral  are  so  de- 
ceived, what  can  we  expect  of  the  ignorant  and 
immoral?  The  devil's  dogma,  that  prostitu- 
tion is  a  protection  to  virtue,  is  thrust  upon  us 
continually  by  the  vilest  men  and  women,  and 
by  those  who  create,  promote  and  exploit  vice. 
This  creed  is  assiduously  preached  by  dive- 
keepers  and  madams  throughout  the  world. 
Thereby  they  have  their  wealth,  for  thereby 
honest  people  are  deceived  into  tolerating  these 
enemies  of  the  human  race — destroyers  of 
youths  and  maidens,  of  innocent  wives  and 
guilty  husbands,  of  cities,  civilizations  and  na^ 
tions. 

SIN  IS  NOT  A  BLESSING. 

The  prostitute  will  be  a  blessing  to  good 
women  when  Satan  is  actually  transformed  in- 
to a  holy  angel — but  not  till  then.  While  the 
hideous  caricature  of  womanhood  is  responsi- 
ble by  her  diseases  for  one-fourth  or  more  of 
the  surgical  operations  upon  innocent  wives--^ 
operations  made  necessary  by  disease  which 
their  husbands  bought  of  the  prostitute,  per- 
haps years  before  marriage — ^we  cannot  regard 
her  and  her  criminal  male  partners  as  anything 
less  than  the  red-handed  slayers  of  good  wom- 
en. While  the  eye  doctors  attribute  one-fourth 
of  blindness,  particularly  of  helpless  babies,  to 
the  same  source,  we  cannot  quote  except  tG 
condemn,  this  sophistry  that  makes  the  worse 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  267 

appear  tlie  better  cause  and  garlands  the  wom- 
an whose  pursuit  is  death  itself,  suicide  and 
murder  in  one. 

While  this  perverted  or  enslaved  creature 
that  Lecky  and  Arnold  would  glorify  drives 
herself  and  her  criminal  patrons  to  suffer  loco- 
motor ataxia,  necrosis  of  bone  and  brain,  or  in- 
curable insanity  at  public  expense  in  our  asy- 
lums, we  will  give  her  no  garland,  except  apple 
blossoms — of  the  apples  of  Sodom. 

GOOD  WOMEN  ARE  NOT  PROTECTED 
BY  BAD. 

Nor  do  hundreds  of  brothels  illegally  legal- 
ized in  a  city  protect  virtuous  women,  maidens 
and  little  girls  from  bestial  assault.  On  the 
contrary,  good  women  are  a  thousand  times 
safer  where  no  such  hells  exist  to  manufacture 
degenerates.  The  men  who  consort  with  vile 
women  lose  their  respect  for  all  women,  and 
by  their  base  fellowship  inflame  infernal  fires 
which  are  the  utmost  menace  to  all  good  wom- 
en. 

We  have  had  in  Chicago  numerous  recent  il- 
lustrations of  the  way  in  which  police-protected 
houses  of  infamy  save  good  women  and  girls. 

A  few  weeks  before  the  murder  of  Mrs.  Gen- 
try, Constantine  applied  at  the  rooming  agen- 
cy of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
for  a  room.  The  secretary  marked  on  his  ap- 
plication "sporty"  and  did  not  send  him  to  any 
good  woman's  home  to  room,  but  to  a  lodging 
house  of  men  only.    By  some  means  he  came 


268  WAR  ON  THE 

to  room  at  the  Gentry  hortie  and  repaid  hos- 
pitality by  murdering  his  hostess.  The 
"sporty"  man  associating  with  harlots,  loses 
his  respect  for  good  women,  and  may  murder 
them  if  they  resist  his  wicked  will. 

In  September  one  block  from  our  outrageous 
**levee,"  where  one  thousand  and  fifty  ruined 
women  are  constantly  at  the  service  of  ten 
thousands  of  vile  men — one  block  from  these 
protectresses  of  good  women  and  young  girls, 
more  than  a  thousand  protectresses! — a  thir- 
teen-year-old girl  was  lured  to  a  room  and  bru- 
tally assaulted.  The  police  officer,  Lieut. 
White,  who  arrested  the  criminal,  and  was 
himself  roughly  handled  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty,  confirmed  this  report  when  I  inquired 
of  him  face  to  face.  Captain  McCann  told  me 
he  arrested  a  divekeeper  for  assaulting  his  own 
stepdaughter. 

Do  the  dives  protect  women  and  girls  from 
crimes  like  these?  Do  they  not  rather  manu- 
facture the  degenerates  who  commit  these 
crimes? 

WORST  ENEMIES  OF  THE  HUMAN 
RACE. 

Harlots  and  their  patrons  are  the  worst  ene- 
mies in  every  way  that  good  women  can  have. 
If  there  were  any  virtue  in  vice,  if  black  were 
white  or  even  speckled,  doubtless  the  supreme 
book  of  morals,  the  guide  of  the  race,  would 
have  some  word  in  praise  of  moral  rottenness 
— some  few  lines  in  prose  or  verse  in  laudation 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  269 

of  lewd  women.  But  the  whole  Bible  keeps  the 
distinction  sharp  and  clear  between  black  and 
white,  between  virtue  and  sin. 

Until  the  public  intelligence  and  conscience 
are  trained  to  abhor  vice  as  a  destroyer  of  fam- 
ilies and  nations — ^more  insidious  and  more 
ruinous  than  even  the  liquor  traffic — a  soft, 
foolish,  wicked  indulgence  will  be  granted  to 
the  red  light  districts,  and  the  white  slave  mar- 
kets which  they  constitute  and  are.  We  must 
call  most  urgently  upon  all  guides  and  rulers  of 
the  people  to  make  incessant  war  upon  the 
loathsome  criminals  who  prey  upon  young 
women  and  young  men.  They  are  the  worst 
enemies  of  the  human  race.  They  drink  the 
heart's  blood  of  mothers  and  eat  the  flesh  of 
their  daughters.  They  people  hospitals,  alms- 
houses, lunatic  asylums  and  dissecting  rooms. 
They  blast  innocent  wives  and  blind  helpless 
babies.  They  enslave  by  force,  threats  or  craft 
thousands  of  weak  women  and  innocent  young 
girls. 

Their  horrible  flesh  market  and  slave  pen  is 
the  red  light  district,  where  they  are  illegally 
exempted  from  the  criminal  prosecutions  that 
their  crimes  deserve.  This  favor  to  criminals 
is  itself  criminal.  The  men  who  have  lifted  up 
their  hands  to  God,  upon  taking  the  oath  of 
office,  have  an  appalling  responsibility  when 
they  exempt  the  most  odious  criminals  from 
the  laws  which  they  are  sworn  and  paid  to  en- 
force. The  sovereign  people,  who  indulge  these 
officials  in  their  palpable  neglect  of  duty  and 


270  WAR  ON  THE 

malfeasance  in  office,  have  a  fearful  accounta* 
bility. 

Property  owners  and  their  agents,  who  rent 
buildings  for  immoral  use,  are  perhaps  guiltiest 
of  all,  having  no  motive  but  greed.  In  Los 
Angeles,  the  aroused  citizens  put  the  Italian 
millionaire,  who  owned  the  "crib"  district  and 
was  exploiting  girls  therein,  on  the  chain  gang 
and  abolished  the  "crib"  district.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  Chicago  we  have  seen  property  of  Yale 
University  become  the  vilest  of  dives,  to  the 
grief  of  President  Hadley  and  the  shame  of  his 
agents  in  this  city. 

The  old  Roman  Senator,  who  believed  that 
Rome  and  Carthage  could  not  both  be  great, 
kept  crying  "Delenda  est  Carthago"  until  Car- 
thage was  blotted  out.  So  let  us  keep  crying, 
"The  Levee  must  go !"  until  the  police-protect- 
ed white  slave  market  is  destroyed.  Above  all, 
in  our  struggle  against  this  most  infamous 
slavery,  let  us  never  forget  the  very  early  flag 
of  the  Revolution,  the  Pine  Tree  Flag,  now  pre- 
served  in  Independence  Hall,  with  its  death" 
less  motto,  WE  APPEAL  TO  GOD. 

E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  271 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE  FAILURE  AND  SHAME  OF  THE 
REGULATION  OF  VICE. 

"When  the  Law  falls  to  regulate  sin,  and  not 
to  take  it  utterly  away,  it  necessarily  confirms 
and  establishes  sin." — ^John  Milton. 

"The  law  ought  to  make  virtue  easy  and 
vice  difficult." — Wm.  E.  Gladstone. 

"They  enslave  their  children's  children, 
Who  make  compromise  with  sin." 

— ^James  Russell  Lowell. 

THE  YOUNG  MAN'S  VIEW. 

A  ruined  young  man  in  one  of  Chicago's 
segregated  districts  for  advertising  and  en- 
couraging vice,  asked  this  question,  as  he  stood 
on  the  curbstone  in  one  of  our  midnight  gospel 
meetings:  "If  the  wise  men  who  are  set  up 
over  us  to  rule  us  want  it  this  way,  what  can 
you  expect  of  us?" 

Such  is  the  inevitable  reasoning  of  young 
men.  They  commonly  believe  that  the  city 
licenses  the  criminal  resorts  which  its  police 
protect,  and  they  are  not  conscious  of  bad  cit- 
izenship in  supporting  resorts  which  are  in  sue 
favor  with  the  city  government. 

Long  ago  Archdeacon  Paley  wrote  in  his 


272  WAR  ON  THE 

Moral  Philosophy  "The  avowed  toleration, 
and  in  some  countries,  the  licensing,  taxing, 
and  regulating  of  public  brothels,  has  appeared 
to  the  people  an  authorizing  of  fornication. 
The  Legislators  ought  to  have  foreseen  this  ef- 
fect." 

LAWGIVERS  ARE  INEXORABLE. 

The  greatest  of  lawgivers,  Moses,  made  no 
compromise  with  vice.  He  is  inexorable. 
"There  shall  not  be  a  harlot  of  the  daughters  of 
Israel."  The  daughter  of  a  priest  who  profaned 
herself  was  to  be  burnt  to  death.  The  Old  Tes- 
tament is  hot  with  warnings  against  patroniz- 
ing "strange  women,"  that  is,  foreign  prosti- 
tutes who  had  invaded  the  Holy  Land,  like  the 
imported  white  slaves  of  the  French  traders 
here  today.  Manu,  the  ancient  lawgiver  of 
India,  provided  that  the  adulterer  should  be 
burnt  to  death  on  an  iron  bed,  and  the  adulter- 
ess devoured  by  dogs  in  a  public  place.  Budd- 
ha speaks  with  loathing  of  immoral  conduct. 

The  Son  of  God,  that  his  mercy  towards  re- 
pentant women  who  washed  his  feet  with  their 
tears  might  not  be  taken  as  softness  towards 
sin,  came  back  from  heaven  to  say  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation,  that  he  will  "cast  into  great  trib- 
ulation" and  "kill  with  death"  wanton  women 
and  the  men  who  visit  them.  Of  these  iniquities 
the  compassionate  Redeemer  says,  "Which 
things  I  also  hate."  Rulers  cannot  claim  any 
consent  or  condonement  of  their  regulation  of 
vice  from  the  Head  of  all  human  government, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  273 

the  King  of  kings,  to  whom  they  must  answer 
for  their  rule  or  misrule. 

FALLEN  GOVERNMENTS  AND  A 
FALLEN  CHURCH. 

So  scandalously  far  can  a  fallen  government 
and  a  fallen  church  depart  from  the  Head  of 
the  church  and  the  Head  of  human  govern- 
ment, that  we  have  seen  kings,  even  the  pious 
king  of  France,  Saint  Louis,  giving  a  royal  per- 
mit to  harlots ;  and  the  Mayor  of  London,  Wil- 
liam Walworth,  in  138 1,  managing  the  brothels 
at  Southwark  for  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
who  owned,  licensed  and  regulated  those  abom- 
inable places.  The  Reformation  party  pre- 
vailed upon  Henry  VIII,  in  the  thirty-seventh 
year  of  his  reign  to  end  this  infamy,  and  "this 
row  of  stews  in  Southwark  was  put  down  by 
the  king's  commandment,  which  was  pro- 
claimed by  sound  of  trumpet."  Thus  as  Dr. 
Fuller  wrote,  "This  regiment  of  sinners  was 
totally  and  finally  routed" — a  warning  to  other 
vice  districts,  and  an  example  of  how  to  deal 
with  them. 

From  that  date,  1545  to  1864,  England  gave 
no  official  endorsement  to  vice.  Then  a  wicked 
government,  after  calling  the  medical  head  of 
the  system  of  regulation  in  Paris  to  visit  Lon- 
don, and  getting  the  Parisian  chief  of  police  to 
write  a  book  for  their  information,  thrust  upon 
the  unsuspecting  English  nation  the  odious 
French  system  of  legalized  vice — restricting 
its  application  at  first  to  certain  garrison  towns, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  275 

dier  finds  a  tract  in  his  knapsack  telling  him 
plainly  the  consequences  of  vice,  and  urging 
him  to  lead  a  manly  and  honorable  life.  The 
tract  was  prepared  jointly  by  Lord  Kitchener 
and  the  Bishop  of  Lahore. 

The  attempt  to  license  infamy  in  cities  of 
Illinois  was  thwarted  by  an  Emergency  Act, 
approved  and  in  force  March  27th,  1874.  (See 
Revised  Statutes,  Chapter  24,  Sec.  245,  p.  352.) 

Article  V  of  the  Cities  and  Villages  Act  pro- 
vides in  Section  62,  item  45,  that  the  city  coun- 
cil shall  have  power  not  to  regulate,  but  to  sup- 
press houses  of  ill-fame,  within  the  limits  of 
the  city  and  within  three  miles  of  the  outer 
boundaries  of  the  city.    p.  318. 

It  is  not  by  authority  of  the  people  of  Illinois 
that  segregated  districts  are  proclaimed, 
whereby  a  white  slave  market  is  established, 
and  the  most  loathsome  criminals  of  the  world 
are  invited  to  make  commerce  of  American  and 
alien  girls. 

AN  UNPARDONABLE  SIN. 

Plato  taught  that  the  unpardonable  sin  is  to 
betray  a  great  public  trust.  What  public  trust 
is  so  great  as  the  health  and  morals  of  the  peo- 
ple? The  old  Roman  law  had  at  its  foundation 
this  motto:  "The  safety  of  the  people  is  the 
supreme  law."  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  declared  more  than  once: 
"No  legislature  can  bargain  away  the  public 
health  or  the  public  morals.   The  people  them- 


276  WAR  ON  THE 

selves  cannot  do  it,  much  less  their  servants." 
Stone  vs.  Mississippi,  loi  U.  S.  Rep.,  814-819. 
A  great  lawyer  has  written:  "Even  if  the 
legislature  does  attempt  to  give  sanction  and 
confer  its  authority  upon  any  enterprise  which 
is  immoral  in  its  nature  or  which  results  in  im- 
morality, then  the  Governor  and  the  Judge 
have  each  an  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  de- 
clare such  legislation  void."  Moral  Law  and 
Civil  Law,  p.  90. 

SUPREME  COURTS  ARE  UNSTAINED. 

It  is  the  settled  doctrine  of  the  highest 
courts,  as  voiced  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cal- 
ifornia in  the  case  of  Pon  vs.  Wittman,  in  July, 
1905,  that: 

"These  houses  are  common  or  public  nuis- 
ances. Their  maintenance  directly  tends  to 
corrupt  and  debase  public  morals,  to  promote 
vice,  and  to  encourage  dissolute  and  idle  habits, 
and  the  suppression  of  nuisances  of  this  char- 
acter and  having  this  tendency  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant duties  of  government." 

But  notwithstanding  the  unequivocal  declar- 
ations of  Supreme  Courts,  there  are  nearly  al- 
ways politicians  whose  political  creed  is  learned 
from  the  white  slave  trader,  and  the  serpentine 
woman  who  keeps  the  glittering  vestibule  of 
hell.  Such  a  mother  of  harlots,  clothed  in  silks 
and  decked  in  diamonds,  can  state  the  argu- 
ment for  regulation  much  more  logically  and 
eloquently  than  any  policeman,  politician,  or 
rare  misguided  preacher  (lineally  descended 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  277 

from  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  aforemen- 
tioned) can  state  it  for  her  benefit  and  profit. 

Let  us  be  careful  that  we  be  not  numbered 
among  those  of  whom  it  is  written,  "There 
were  false  prophets  among  the  people." 

The  white  slave  traders,  and  all  who  wilfully 
or  ignorantly  aid  and  abet  their  abominable 
commerce  in  girls,  are  ardent  advocates  of  seg- 
regation or  some  form  of  regulation — ^whereby 
they  obtain  a  police  status  which  enables  them 
to  exploit  the  helpless  and  foolish,  and  igno- 
rant, and  vicious  to  dispense  alike  to  guilty  men 
and  innocent  wives  and  babies,  blindness,  in- 
sanity, locomotor  ataxia,  abscesses,  tumors, 
surgical  operations  and  coffins. 

To  protect  these  loathsome  resorts  is  like 
maintaining  a  thousand  pest  houses,  not  for 
purposes  of  quarantine,  but  with  the  sole  result 
of  advertising  and  spreading  the  pestilence. 

THE  SHAME  OF  BRUSSELS,  INDIA  AND 
HONG  KONG. 

In  Brussels,  where  regulation  was  held  to  be 
perfect,  and  a  model  for  other  countries,  Eng- 
lish girls  were  found  enslaved,  and  the  chief  of 
police  resigned  after  being  exposed  as  a  part- 
ner with  the  white  slave  traders. 

In  India,  regulation  went  the  abhorrent 
length  that  an  army  circular  memorandum, 
under  authority  of  Sir  Frederick,  afterwards 
Lord  Roberts,  made  the  army  itself  a  procurer 
of  prostitutes,  saying :  "It  is  necessary  to  have 
a  sufficient  number  of  women ;  to  take  care  that 


278  WAR  ON  THE 

they  are  sufficiently  attractive;  and  to  provide 
them  with  proper  houses" — free  quarters. 
When  Dr.  Kate  Bushnell  and  Mrs.  Andrew, 
two  American  ladies,  exposed  the  frightful  con- 
ditions existing,  by  authority,  in  India,  Lord 
Roberts  at  first  said  that  they  spoke  falsely,  but 
afterwards  said,  when  convicted  of  the  truth, 
"I  apologize  to  the  ladies  without  reserve." 

In  Hong  Kong,  under  regulation,  govern- 
ment money  was  used  by  detectives  to  induce 
women  to  sin  with  them,  in  order  to  enroll 
them  as  public  women.  In  India  and  Hong 
Kong  alike,  under  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria, 
of  happy  memory,  these  registered  women 
were  called  "Queen's  women."  Under  such 
shameful  misrule  Hong  Kong  became  the  base 
for  the  shipment  of  Chinese  slave  girls  to  Cali- 
fornia, by  which  Mongolian  brothel  slavery 
was  introduced  into  America — a  horror  worse 
than  the  bubonic  plague. 

BLAMELESS  GIRLS  ENSNARED  IN 
CHICAGO. 

In  this  First  Ward  of  Chicago,  said  to  be  the 
most  influential  and  richest  ward  in  the  world, 
are  nearly  two  miles  of  indecent  resorts.  Since 
a  district  in  this  ward  was  thrown  open  to  this 
most  diabolical  commerce,  blameless  Chicago 
virgins  have  been  lured  to  apartments  on  Wa- 
bash avenue,  under  the  shadow  of  churches 
of  cathedral  importance,  and  then  sold  into  the 
adjacent  white  slave  market — the  illegal  red 
light  district.     This  was  shown  in  court  at 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  279 

Harrison  Street,  before  Judge  Newcomer,  June 
I,  1907. 

Intoxicating  liquor  has  been  sold  illegally, 
without  a  license,  in  hundreds,  perhaps  thou- 
sands of  resorts  in  the  city,  against  the  protest 
of  the  Chicago  Law  and  Order  League 
repeatedly  addressed  to  the  Mayor.  Sure- 
ly this  will  not  be  allowed  to  contin- 
ue— the  virtual  pa3mient  of  a  bounty  of 
a  thousand  dollars  a  year,  the  price 
of  a  saloon  license,  to  the  keeper  of  an  indecent 
resort.  Surely  the  First  Ward  debauch  in  the 
Coliseum  will  never  be  allowed  again. 

REPEAL  OF  REGULATION  NOW  DE- 
MANDED IN  EUROPE. 

The  International  Bureau  for  the  Suppres- 
sion of  the  White  Slave  Traffic,  representing 
every  country  in  Europe,  except  Turkey,  has 
recently  written: 

"We  are  anxious  to  call  the  attention  of  our 
readers  to  the  fact  that  when  we  started  the 
work  for  the  suppression  of  the  white  slave 
traffic,  we  maintained  that,  apart  altogether 
from  that  direct  work,  the  respective  govern- 
ments would  have  their  attention  drawn  to  the 
importance  of  the  question  of  the  repeal  of  the 
system  of  regulation  of  vice.  Our  anticipations 
are  being  fully  realized  in  different  countries, 
where  the  National  Committees  are  declaring 
by  vote  that  the  White  Slave  traffic  is  promot- 
ed and  kept  alive  by  the  government  regula- 
tion of  vice,  and  are  calling  upon  their  respect- 


280  WAR  ON  THE 

ive  governments  to  abolish  the  system."  (23d 
Annual  Report  of  the  National  Vigilance  As- 
sociation, London,  page  17.) 

The  only  righteous  attitude  of  government 
toward  all  crime  and  vice  is  eternal  antagon- 
ism. The  government  should  educate  the  peo- 
ple concerning  the  frightful  effects  of  vice  and 
never  encourage  these  ruinous  practices.  The 
responsibility  of  government  in  this  connec- 
tion are  nothing  less  than  awful. 

POSITION  OF  THE  CLERGY. 

The  editor  of  a  great  Chicago  daily  said  to 
me,  concerning  the  readiness  of  many  people 
to  segregate  and  regulate  vice.  "The  clergy 
won't  stand  for  it." 

Mr.  Huxley,  shortly  before  his  death,  ad- 
dressing a  company  of  clergymen,  said  that 
men  of  science  in  their  search  for  the  truth, 
may  find  themselves  obliged  to  return  to  the 
guardians  of  Divine  revelation,  the  ministers 
of  God,  and  that  if  they  did  so  return,  he  hoped 
that  the  clergy  would  not  have  betrayed  the 
gates. 

James  Russell  Lowell  has  told  us  truly  that 
compromise  in  a  matter  of  fundamental  mor- 
als, that  is,  slavery,  cost  us  the  Civil  War.  In 
matters  of  eternal  truth,  and  in  matters  of  fun- 
damental morals,  we  must  not,  we  will  not, 
compromise.  WE  WILL  NEVER  BETRAY 
THE  GATES  E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  281 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  WHITE  SLAVES  AND  THE  BLACK 
PLAGUES. 

The  White  Slave  Trade  means  two  things, 
snaring  girls  and  spreading  diseaseo  As  tuber- 
culosis has  been  called  the  White  Plague,  the 
diseases  spread  by  vice  are  now  called  the 
Black  Plagues.  Every  father  and  mother, 
every  youth  and  maiden  should  be  instructed  at 
once  in  the  right  way  and  put  on  guard  against 
the  reptiles  that  lure  unprotected  girls,  and 
against  the  sting  of  deadly  disease  that  inevit- 
ably punishes  all  who  break  the  moral  law, 
which  is  physical  law  as  well. 

It  is  not  enough  to  hint  softly  at  these  hor- 
rors. The  truth  must  be  told  as  plainly  as  the 
preacher's  Bible  and  the  physician's  micro- 
scope tell  it.  Delicacy  is  excellent  in  telling 
the  truth,  but  the  delicacy  that  suppresses  the 
truth  is  sin.  Our  loins  are  to  be  girt  about  with 
truth — our  loins,  the  apostle  says,  the  region 
of  our  sex  life — girt  with  truth,  not  with  ignor- 
ance and  false  modesty. 

The  general  public  must  be  made  to  realize 
the  enormous  extent  and  serious  character  of 
these  diseases.  They  cause  one-seventh  of  the 
suffering  of  the  human  race,  and  in  cities  more 
than  one-seventh.  Physicians  have  heretofore 


282  WAR  ON  THE 

concealed  the  truth  from  the  public,  but  now 
are  foremost  in  telling  it. 

When  a  girl  is  induced  to  take  up  an  immor- 
al life  she  is  quickly  infected  with  the  diseases 
that  go  with  that  misconduct,  and  is  dead  while 
she  lives  and  a  source  of  death  to  others.  A 
physician  whose  former  duty  it  was  to  inspect 
depraved  women  in  Paris  said  to  an  audience 
of  young  men  in  a  vice  district  of  Chicago  that 
ninety-five  in  a  hundred  of  those  women  were 
walking  pest-houses. 

The  victims  of  the  loathsome  commerce  in 
girls  are  first  ensnared,  then  enslaved  or  at 
least  exploited,  inevitably  infected  with  the 
loathsome  disease  and  all  the  time  compelled 
to  make  money  for  their  wicked  masters.  Con- 
stantly they  are  spreading  the  pestilence  to  the 
men  and  youths  who  patronize  them  and  then 
pass  on  the  plagues  to  their  present  or  future 
wives  and  children. 

The  red  light  districts,  like  a  lake  of  fire,  are 
perpetually  engulfing  unwary  and  unprotect- 
ed girls,  along  with  the  wilfully  depraved.  They 
are  misled  by  crafty  women  and  villainous 
young  men  with  smooth  manners  and  false 
tongues,  on  promises  of  light  work,  big  pay, 
fine  clothes,  jewels  and  great  happiness.  The 
route  to  the  abyss  is  commonly  by  way  of  dance 
halls  and  amusement  resorts  of  all  kinds  hav- 
ing drinking  attachments.  The  girl  who  drinks 
puts  herself  at  the  mercy  of  the  young  man  in 
whose  company  she  may  be.  The  girl  who 
dances  is  in  very  great  peril,   and  she  puts 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  283 

young  men  with  whom  she  dances  under  great- 
er temptation  than  herself. 

Soon  after  the  fatal  plunge  a  girl  becomes 
immodest,  indecent,  lawless,  homeless,  a  vic- 
tim and  distributer  of  vile  diseases.  When  the 
plain  people  know  the  horrors  of  the  white 
slaves  and  the  black  plagues,  the  sane  plain 
people  will  demand  the  destruction  of  the  white 
slave  market  and  the  extirpation  of  the  black 
plagues. 

The  committee  of  seven  physicians,  appoint- 
ed by  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of 
New  York,  after  elaborate  investigation  re- 
ported that  225,000  persons  were  treated  in 
New  York  City  in  the  year  1900  for  the 
diseases  caused  by  vice.  The  majority  of  these 
were  immoral  men  and  immoral  women,  but  a 
large  and  deeply  wronged  minority  consisted 
of  virtuous  wives  and  children  of  all  ages. 

HALF  A  MILLION  BLIND. 

Any  medical  professor  can  tell  any  inquirer 
that  there  are  at  least  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
blind  in  the  United  States  today,  whose  blind- 
ness dates  from  a  few  days  after  birth  and  was 
caused  by  disease  which  their  mothers  con- 
tracted innocently  from  their  guilty  husbands 
— ^who  in  most  cases  supposed  themselves 
cured  before  marriage. 

Dr.  Neisser,  of  Berlin,  who  in  1879  isolated 
the  germ  that  causes  ophthalmia  of  the  new- 
born, a  vice  germ,  after  careful  investigation 
throughout  Germany  concludes  from  the  sta- 


284  WAR  ON  THE 

tistics  that  there  are  thirty  thousand  blind  in 
Germany  from  this  cause.  If  the  same  propor- 
tion would  hold  throughout  Europe,  there  are 
two  hundred  thousand  blind  in  Europe  from 
this  cause — more  than  the  three  armies  en- 
gaged at  Waterloo. 

But  to  be  very  conservative,  let  us  cut  the 
figures  in  two,  and  we  have  still  one  hundred 
thousand  sightless  persons,  blind  from  baby- 
hood, in  Europe  alone.  Including  America, 
and  adding  Asia,  Africa  and  the  islands  of  the 
South  Seas,  we  shall  find  in  the  world  half  a 
million  persons  blind  or  one  million  sightless 
eyes,  from  this  pestilent  germ — at  which  many 
young  men  laugh  as  no  worse  than  a  cold  and 
which  is  on  sale  all  the  time  in  every  immoral 
resort  in  the  world. 

HELEN  KELLER'S  "I  MUST  SPEAK." 

In  a  full-page  article  in  The  Ladies'  Home 
Journal  for  January,  1909,  Helen  Keller,  the 
brilliant  blind  graduate  of  Radcliffe  College, 
wrote  under  the  heading  "I  Must  Speak": 

"The  most  common  cause  of  blindness  is 
ophthalmia  of  the  new-born.  One  pupil  in 
every  three  at  the  institution  for  the  blind  in 
New  York  City  was  blinded  in  infancy  by  this 
disease. 

"What  is  the  cause  of  ophthalmia  neona- 
torum? It  is  a  specific  germ  communicated 
by  the  mother  to  the  child  at  birth.  Previous 
to  the  child's  birth  she  has  unconsciously  re- 
ceived it  through  infection  from  her  husbands 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  285 

He  has  contracted  the  infection  in  licentious 
relations  before  or  since  marriage.  *The  crud- 
est link  in  the  chain  of  consequences,'  says  Dr. 
Prince  Morrow,  *is  the  mother's  innocent  agen- 
cy. She  is  made  a  passive,  unconscious  medi- 
um of  instilling  into  the  eyes  of  her  new-born 
babe  a  virulent  poison  which  extinguishes  its 
sight.' 

"It  is  part  of  the  bitter  harvest  of  the  wild 
oats  he  has  sown." 

Miss  Keller  goes  on  in  hei  article  to  tell  the 
women  of  America  that  blindness  is  by  no 
means  the  most  terrible  result  of  this  pestilent 
sin. 

INNOCENT  WIVES  SUFFER. 

Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow,  whom  Miss  Keller 
quotes,  has  written  a  volume  on  the  conse- 
quences of  these  diseases  to  wives  and  children. 
The  book  is  entitled  "Social  Diseases  and  Mar- 
riage." On  page  132  Dr.  Morrow  quotes  this 
from  Dr.  Garrigues: 

"I  knew  a  girl  in  perfect  health,  of  great 
beauty,  of  Junoesque  proportions,  combining 
muscular  strength  with  regularity  of  features 
and  graceful  movements,  possessing  a  most 
amiable  disposition — in  brief  a  paragon  of  a 
wife  to  make  a  husband  happy.  She  married  a 
nice  young  man  in  a  good  business.  It  was  a 
marriage  based  upon  mutual  affection  and  held 
out  every  prospect  of  a  long  and  happy  union. 
A  week  after  her  marriage  she  came  to  me  with 
an  abscess  in  one  of  Bartholini's  glands  and  a 


286  WAR  ON  THE 

profuse  discharge.  .  .  .  She  was  under 
treatment  for  months.  .  .  .  She  was 
seized  with  violent  pain  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  abdomen  and  had  a  temperature  of  105  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  and  a  pulse  of  140.  .  .  . 
The  peritonitic  infection  continued  to  spread, 
and  laparotomy  was  performed.  Finally  she 
died. 

"In  many  similar  cases  the  patients  recov- 
ered for  the  time  being,  but  went  on  leading  a 
life  of  invalidism,  interrupted  by  more  acute 
attacks  ^  f  peritonitis.  Some  get  well  after  hav- 
ing their  ovaries  and  tubes  removed.  This, 
then,  is  what  avv^aits  these  poor  women— dis- 
charges, inflammations,  a  life  full  of  suffering, 
capital  operations,  or  death." 

A  Chicago  physician  writes  to  the  Chicago 
Society  of  Social  Hygiene: 

"Several  years  ago  there  came  under  my 
care  a  case  that  I  can  never  forget.  The  pa- 
tient was  a  bride  twenty-two  years  old,  a  beau- 
tiful wom.an  of  excellent  family.  She  was  suf- 
fering from  a  disease  contracted  from  her  hus- 
band, who  had  supposed  himself  cured  before 
the  wedding.  An  operation,  which  offered  the 
only  chance  of  saving  her  life,  was  performed. 
All  went  well  for  a  few  days.  Her  husband, 
who  had  been  constantly  with  her,  was  called 
away  on  urgent  business.  The  patient  sudden- 
ly became  worse  and  died  before  his  return." 

These  two  beautiful  brides,  and  countless 
thousands  like  them,  were  killed  by  a  disease 
of  which  young  men  are  not  afraid,  of  which 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  287 

they  make  light  in  their  ignorance.  Any  phy-^^ 
sician  will  attest  these  statements.  Some  sur- 
geons attribute  three-fourths  of  the  surgical 
operations  on  women  to  this  disease;  one- 
fourth  is  a  very  conservative  reckoning. 

THE  REMEDY. 

Mr.  Edward  Bok,  editor  of  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal,  on  the  editor's  personal  page 
of  that  magazine  for  September,  1908,  puts  the 
responsibility  for  meeting  these  terrible  evils 
upon  parents.    He  wrote: 

"First:  We  parents  must  first  of  all  get  it 
into  our  heads  firm  and  fast  to  do  away  with 
the  policy  of  silence  with  our  children,  that  has 
done  so  much  to  bring  about  this  condition. 
Our  sons  and  our  daughters  must  be  told  what 
they  are,  and  they  must  be  told  lovingly  and 
frankly.    But  told  they  must  be. 

"Second:  We  fathers  of  daughters  must  rid 
ourselves  of  the  notion  that  has  worked  such  di- 
abolical havoc  of  a  double  moral  standard. 
There  can  be  but  one  standard:  that  of  moral 
equality.  Instead  of  being  so  painfully  anxious 
about  the  'financial  prospects'  of  a  young  man 
who  seeks  the  hand  of  our  daughter  in  mar- 
riage, and  making  that  the  first  question,  it  is 
time  that  we  put  health  first  and  money  sec- 
ond :  that  we  find  out,  first  of  all,  if  the  young 
man  comes  to  court,  as  the  lawyers  say,  with 
clean  hands.  Let  a  father  ask  the  young  man, 
as  his  leading  question,  whether  he  is  physical- 
ly clean:  insist  that  he  shall  go  to  his  family 


288  WAR  ON  THE 

physician,  and  if  he  gives  him  a  clean  bill  of 
health,  then  his  financial  prospects  can  be  gone 
into.  But  his  physical  self  first.  That  much 
every  father  would  do  in  the  case  of  a  horse  or 
a  dog  that  he  bought  with  a  view  to  mating. 
Yet  he  does  less  for  his  daughter — his  own 
flesh  and  blood." 

Dr.  William  Osier,  formerly  of  Johns  Hop- 
kins Medical  School,  Baltimore,  now  of  the 
University  of  Oxford,  in  an  article  describing 
the  diseases  which  are  the  greatest  scourges 
of  the  human  race,  such  as  cholera,  yellow  fe- 
ver, smallpox,  consumption,  pneumonia  and 
leprosy,  wrote  of  the  group  of  vice  diseases : 

"These  are  in  one  respect  the  worst  of  all  we 
have  to  mention,  for  they  are  the  only  ones 
transmitted  in  full  virulence  to  innocent  chil- 
dren to  fill  their  lives  with  suffering,  and  which 
involve  equally  innocent  wives  in  the  misery 
and  shame." 

E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  289 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC  AND 
THE  PUBLIC  HEALTH. 

On  Monday,  February  8,  1909,  The  Illinois 
Vigilance  Association,  an  organization  having 
for  its  object  the  suppression  of  traffic  in  wom- 
en and  girls,  held  its  second  annual  conference 
against  this  evil.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the 
auditorium  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, in  Chicago. 

Dr.  Winfield  Scott  Hall,  professor  of  physi- 
ology in  Northwestern  University  Medical 
School,  spoke  on  the  subject  that  is  the  title  of 
this  chapter,  and  was  followed  by  Judge  Julian 
W.  Mack.  Their  plain,  chaste,  truthful  words 
gave  no  offense  to  the  refined  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, and  young  ladies  and  young  gentle- 
men, who  composed  that  large  audience  of 
nearly  a  thousand  people.  Instead  of  offense, 
appreciation  and  gratitude  were  in  every  heart. 

The  addresses  of  these  two  eminent  men  are 
here  reproduced  word  for  word  from  the  sten- 
ographer's report,  not  omitting  the  enlivening 
interruptions  from  a  woman  in  the  audience, 
herself  a  physician  and  much  interested  in  this 
reform. 

CHAIRMAN  BOYNTON:  "The  White 
Slave  Traffic  and  the  Public  Health"  is  the  top- 


290  WAR  ON  THE 

ic  of  the  address  by  Dr.  Winfield  Scott  Hall, 
Professor  of  Physiology,  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity Medical  School: 

DR.  WINFIELD  SCOTT  HALL:  Ladies 
and  Gentlemen :  It  might  be  of  interest  to  note 
in  passing  that  my  interest  in  this  matter  has 
been  directed  particularly  along  educational 
lines,  to  know  that  since  the  first  of  October, 
1908, 1  have  addressed  young  men  and  boys  on 
this  subject  to  the  number  of  not  less  than 
twenty  thousand,  mostly  in  the  colleges  and 
high  schools,  setting  forth  to  them  in  perfectly 
clear  and  simple  language  the  proper  hygiene 
and  physiology  of  the  sexual  system,  teaching 
them  the  methods  of  right  living. 

As  to  this  nefarious  traffic  that  we  have  just 
been  hearing  about,  and  the  relation  of  that 
traffic  to  the  public  health,  I  would  like  in  one 
sentence  to  sum  up  a  parallel  between  this 
white  slave  trade  and  the  black  slave  trade 
that  continued  from  the  time  of  the  Colonies 
to  the  memory  of  many  of  us  present.  I  be- 
lieve that  we  have  not  yet  expiated  and  paid 
the  price  of  that  slave  trade  and  it  may  be  many 
generations  yet  before  we  pay  for  it.  Blood 
flowing  in  rivers  is  a  part  of  that  price,  from  the 
hearts  of  the  noblest  sons  of  America.  This 
white  slave  trade  must  be  paid  for  in  blood. 
Who  are  the  primary  victims?  In  most  cases, 
pure  minded  girls,  ambitious  to  go  out  and  earn 
a  higher  wage  and  think  they  can  send  home 
wages  to  father  and  mother,  and  they  fall  into 
these  snares  that  are  set  for  them. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  291 

But  we  must  not  stop  there.  These  poor 
girls  do  not  live  over  at  the  most  ten  or  fifteen 
years  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  perhaps 
take  their  own  lives.  But  if  you  could  see  the 
line  of  men  that  I  saw  the  other  night  passing 
through  one  of  these  fifteen-cent  lodging 
houses,  lined  up  as  they  passed  through  to  take 
their  couch  for  the  night,  where  over  two  hun- 
dred of  these  men  passed  by,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  these  men  showing  ulcers  and  other 
superficial  stigmata  of  the  venereal  diseases! 
They  represent  the  under  world,  the  under 
dogs  of  society,  the  men  who  are  down  and 
out,  who  years  ago  visited  the  houses  of  ill- 
fame  and  got  the  disease  and  are  now  ekeing 
out  their  lives,  hoping  for  the  end  to  come — 
many  of  them. 

But  we  can  look  further  for  victims.  I  be- 
lieve that  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  women 
who  are  in  the  houses  of  ill-fame — only  a  small 
proportion — ^make  their  way  there  of  their 
own  volition,  and  that  small  proportion  are  of 
the  degenerate  class  who  are  born  with  a 
screw  loose  somewhere.  From  their  baby- 
hood they  who  are  born  with  this  taint — and 
we  could,  perhaps,  trace  that  taint  back — but 
born  with  that  taint,  they  gradually  go  into 
that  life — but  they  make  a  small  proportion. 
The  rest  of  them  are  either  betrayed  into  that 
sort  of  a  life,  their  lives  ruined  because  they 
trusted  some  man,  or  they  are  bartered  into  it 
through  this  nefarious  white  slave  traffic. 

All  lewd  women  are  diseased  some  of  the 

•  19 


292  WAR  ON  THE 

time  and  some  lewd  women  are  diseased  all  of 
the  time.  Now,  whether  the  lewd  woman  is 
of  the  clandestine  type  or  a  professional  in  the 
house  of  ill-fame,  it  does  not  matter.  Some  say 
the  clandestine  is  the  more  dangerous.  Why? 
Because  no  attempt  is  made  to  have  medical 
care.  .  .  .  That  doesn't  get  at  the  real  con- 
dition at  all,  and  so  she  retains  disease  in  her 
body  and  gives  it  to  every  one  perhaps  who 
visits  her  for  months  to  come.  When  that  is 
in  a  woman's  system,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
eradicate.  It  is  shocking,  but  we  must  know 
the  facts.  Statistics  show  that  of  the  opera- 
tions on  women  in  the  hospitals  of  New  York 
City  year  before  last  for  the  removal  of  one  or 
both  ovaries,  sixty-five  per  cent  of  those  opera- 
tions were  brought  about  and  necessitated  be- 
cause of  gonorrheal  infection. 

WOMAN  IN  THE  AUDIENCE:  And 
most  of  them  were  married  women. 

DR.  HALL:  A  considerable  proportion  of 
them  were  from  the  house  of  ill-fame.  No  small 
proportion  of  them  were  lawfully  wedded,  high 
minded,  wives  and  mothers.  Now,  it  is  not 
customary  for  a  doctor  to  say  to  a  woman  go- 
ing to  the  hospital,  "Madam,  your  difficulty  is 
of  a  venereal  origin" — no,  he  says,  "I  find  an 
abcess.  You  must  get  to  the  hospital  as  soon 
as  possible  or  you  probably  will  lose  your  life. 
It  is  a  question  of  life  and  death  to  get  to  the 
hospital  and  have  an  operation."  If  the  doctor 
had  said  to  this  woman  in  every  case  "This  is 
is   of   gonorrheal   origin,"  you   can   imagine 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  293 

what  the  woman  would  say  who  knew  she  had 
led  an  innocent,  pure  life.  She  would  say 
"Why?" — "You  must  have  got  it  from  some 
man."  "But  I  never  have  had  any  contact  with 
any  man  but  my  lawfully  wedded  husband." 
"Well,  you  must  have  got  it  from  your  lawfully 
wedded  husband  then." 

Our  standards  are  not  high  enough.  Why 
a  lawfully  wedded  husband  should  fix  it  up 
with  his  conscience  to  act  so  basely  towards  his 
wife  we  have  yet  to  find  out.  But  it  is  a  wrong 
standard  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  to  the 
wives  and  mothers  in  this  audience  that  almost 
without  exception  when  I  say  to  young  men 
"Fellows,  isn't  it  time  that  we  have  a  single 
standard  of  purity  for  men  and  women?"  they 
respond  the  same  way  you  have  responded  and 
it  is  a  question  of  education  and  we  must  keep 
it  up. 

Fathers  and  mothers  in  this  audience — and 
I  see  there  are  probably  grandfathers  and 
grandmothers — let  us  see  to  it  that  our  chil- 
dren are  instructed  in  these  matters  by  telling 
them  the  truth  in  early  childhood,  and  then 
when  they  get  older — girls  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  old — let  their  mothers  take  them  into 
their  confidence  and  tell  them  some  of  these 
things,  tell  them  the  truth  and  endeavor  to  pro- 
tect them  against  the  wiles  of  tempters  out  in 
society. 

I  hardly  need  to  say  anything  about  syphilis. 
You  know  what  the  leper  of  the  Orient  used  to 
be  required  to  do  and  perhaps  to  this  day— 


294  WAR  ON  THE 

when  any  one  met  this  leper,  you  know,  he  had 
to  stand  back  and  raise  a  warning  hand  and 
say  "Unclean,  Unclean."  But  the  man  who  has 
syphilis,  does  he  have  to  raise  any  warning 
hand?  No,  he  mingles  in  the  best  society;  he 
drinks  from  our  drinking  glass  and  the  inno- 
cent child  perhaps  uses  the  same  drinking 
glass  in  the  railway  train.  Fortunately,  there 
is  only  a  short  period  of  time  when  he  can 
transmit  it  through  the  drinking  glass,  but 
during  that  time  there  is  nothing  to  restrain 
him,  so  far  as  I  know. 

When  I  was  a  student  in  the  medical  school 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  it  was  a  common 
thing  to  pass  over  with  some  jocose  remark  the 
disease  of  gonorrhea.  But  that  isn't  done  any 
more.  Why?  Because  it  is  now  proven  to  the 
medical  profession  that  gonorrhea  is  quite  as 
dangerous  as  syphilis.  But  the  people  in  gen- 
eral do  not  know  that.  Let  us  tell  the  young 
men,  especially,  that  they  cannot  afford  to  run 
the  risk  of  gonorrhea,  because  it  may  not  only 
wreck  their  own  lives  but  the  germs  may  lurk 
there  and  may  be  transmitted  two  or  three  or 
more  years  later  to  some  innocent  bride. 

QUESTION  FROM  WOMAN  IN  AUDI- 
ENCE:   Couldn't  the  husbands  be  examined? 

DR.  HALL:  That  is  a  perfectly  fair  ques- 
tion. I  have  a  daughter  and  I  want  to  just  say 
this  that  no  man  is  ever  going  to  take  that 
'laughter  from  under  my  roof  until  I  am  sure 
that  he  has  not  got  tuberculosis,  for  one  thing, 
and  syphilis  and  gonorrhea  for  another. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  295 

CHAIRMAN  BOYNTON:  I  am  sure  it  is 
a  matter  of  congratulation  that  we  have  physi- 
cians in  the  city  of  Chicago  who  can  talk  as 
Dr.  Hall  has  talked  to  us  this  morning.  I  am 
glad  the  time  has  come  when  we  can  sit  as  men 
and  women  and  hear  the  truth  and  be  una- 
shamed. 

I  am  sure  we  are  all  glad  to  have  with  us 
Judge  Julian  W.  Mack  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
who  will  address  us. 

JUDGE  JULIAN  W.  MACK:  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen :  I  am  on  the  program  for  the  clos- 
ing words.  I  have  no  particular  subject  to  talk 
about  but  it  is  a  great  gratification  to  listen  to 
the  words,  particularly  of  Dr.  Hall,  and  to  see 
the  response  that  they  receive  in  a  mixed  audi- 
ence such  as  this.  Too  long  have  we  buried 
our  heads  in  the  sand;  too  long  have  we  been 
silent  on  these  great  subjects;  too  long  have 
we  lied  to  our  little  ones,  and  thereby  helped 
to  bring  about  the  destruction  of  so  many  of 
them. 

I  am  not  one  of  those  who  believe  for  a  mo- 
ment that  salvation  lies  in  education  alone. 
Most  drunkards  know  the  evil  of  drink.  Most 
men  that  yield  to  these  temptations  have  some 
idea  of  the  evil  that  they  are  going  into,  but 
girls  in  great  numbers  do  not  know.  The  young 
boys  in  great  numbers  do  not  know.  Just  as 
Dr.  Hall  said,  you  cannot  appeal  to  a  thousand 
school  or  college  men,  putting  before  them  the 
truth,  bringing  them  to  the  knowledge  of  ter- 
rible danger — and  get  any  but  one  response. 


296  WAR  ON  THE 

Our  young  people  are  noble  and  brave  and  we 
can  rely  upon  them.  If  we  could  not,  there 
would  not  be  much  hope  of  our  country.  We 
must  educate  them.  We  must  tell  them  the 
facts.  It  isn't  many  years  ago  that  the  physi- 
cians were  most  guilty  on  this  subject.  If  they 
had  but  told  the  men  of  our  generation  what 
we  are  now  endeavoring  to  tell  the  young  peo- 
ple of  today,  there  would  not  be  as  many  of 
these  operations  as  there  are  now.  But  they 
passed  off  these  matters  so  indifferently,  as 
they  might  a  slight  cold,  and  that  is  what  they 
all  did  practically  about  ten  years  ago.  It  was 
a  crime  against  the  young  people  of  that  day. 
The  physicians,  the  clergymen  and  the  la5mien 
have  all  been  awakened  to  a  realization  of  our 
duties,  at  least,  so  far  as  education  is  concerned. 
It  is  up  to  us  to  see  to  it  that  all  the  boys  and 
girls  know  something  of  the  mystery  of  life 
that  they  may  guard  against  the  dangers  and 
the  temptations  that  confront  them. 

Dr.  Hall  spoke  of  some  of  the  evils  that 
await  the  innocent  wife.  Let  me  carry  that  a 
step  further  and  apply  it  to  local  conditions. 
In  our  County  Hospital  we  have  a  floor  in  the 
children's  ward  for  the  treatment  of  these  cases 
among  the  children.  Dr.  Billings,  President 
of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  one  of  the, 
if  not  the  leading  physician  in  this  section  of 
the  country,  and  Dr.  Frank  Churchill,  one  of 
the  leading  children's  specialists  of  this  city, 
told  me  a  few  days  ago  that  there  are  from 
forty  to  sixty  children  at  all  times  in  that  de^ 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  297 

partment,  and  that  this  disease  is  so  virulent, 
so  contagious,  that  there  is  grave  danger  to 
every  child  that  enters  that  building  and  is 
treated  for  other  diseases  in  other  distinctive 
parts  of  that  building,  and  that  the  great  and 
crying  need  for  the  children — the  sick  children 
— today  in  Chicago  and  in  Cook  county,  is  not 
one  floor  devoted  to  this,  but  a  distinct,  sepa- 
rate building  so  that  the  children  who  have  not 
yet  become  afflicted  and  are  taken  to  the  hos- 
pital for  other  contagious  or  non-contagious 
diseases,  may  not  become  infected  and  carry 
into  their  own  homes  gonorrheal  trouble  that 
comes  through  contagion,  and  it  is  up  to  this 
Vigilance  Association,  the  Society  of  Social 
Hygiene  and  the  other  organizations,  to  see  to 
it  that  the  innocent  children  who  are  sick  and 
as  yet  not  afflicted  with  this  disease,  taken  to 
our  county  institution  do  not  come  out  worse 
than  they  enter.  It  is  up  to  us  to  demand  that 
they  provide  a  proper  children's  department, 
a  proper  children's  building,  for  the  treatment 
of  these  cases. 

The  Society  of  Social  Hygiene  is  but  three 
years  old.  Similar  organizations  exist  in  the 
large  cities  of  the  country.  They  are  due  to  the 
awakening  of  the  people.  They  are  spreading 
among  the  young  people  the  knowledge  of  the 
conditions  that  confront  them.  It  is  up  to  the 
rest  of  us  to  do  our  share  in  other  ways.  Each 
of  us  can  be  an  inspiration  in  his  own  family, 
in  the  public  and  in  the  private  schools.  We, 
the  educated  people  of  this  community,  can 


298  WAR  ON  THE 

instruct  the  lesser  educated  parents  so  that 
they  may  realize  their  duty  to  their  children. 
Our  children  and  their  children  come  together. 
We  cannot  escape  that  brotherhood,  even  if  we 
wanted  to.  Our  children,  no  matter  how  well 
we  care  for  them,  come  into  contact  with  the 
rest  of  the  children  of  the  city.  We  do  not  do 
our  duty  by  our  own  unless  we  do  our  duty  by 
the  others  too,  and  unless  we  see  to  it  that  they 
are  properly  cared  for  also,  danger  awaits  our 
own  children.  That  is  putting  it  on  selfish 
grounds,  but  I  put  it  to  you  on  the  broader 
ground  of  brotherhood  to  man.  Let  us  all  join. 
On  this  great  question  at  least  we  are  one.  No 
matter  how  we  may  differ  on  other  social  prob- 
lems, on  this  question  of  the  white  slave  traf- 
fic every  decent  man  and  woman  stands  on  the 
same  ground. 

"— E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  299 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  VENEREAL  DISEASES. 

Note: — ^We  are  permitted  to  quote  this  chap- 
ter from  the  book  "Man  and  Woman,"  by  Dr. 
Wm,  T.  Belfield,  Professor  in  Rush  Medical 
College,  and  Secretary  of  the  Chicago  Society 
of  Social  Hygiene  organized  by  the  Chicago 
Medical  Society. 

Promiscuous  and  clandestine  indulgence  of 
the  reproductive  instinct,  everywhere  preva- 
lent, is  for  obvious  reasons  especially  common 
in  our  large  cities,  where  even  children  of  both 
sexes  are  frequently  initiated  into  sexual  prac- 
tices before  puberty — a  fact  familiar  to  phy- 
sicians and  often  revealed  in  our  Juvenile 
Courts,  though  apparently  unsuspected  by 
parents  in  general.  Chicago  papers  recently 
recorded  the  discovery  of  such  practices  among 
pupils  of  a  public  school. 

The  illicit  sexual  relation  is  the  chief  though 
not  the  only  factor  in  the  dissemination  of  the 
two  serious  venereal  diseases;  so  prevalent  are 
these  in  our  large  cities  that  at  least  half  the 
adult  male  population  of  all  social  grades,  ac- 
cording to  conservative  estimates,  contract  one 
or  both  of  them.  (In  Germany  gonorrhoea  is 
the  most  frequent  of  all  diseases,  with  the 
single  exception  of  measles;  in  America  it  is 
about  as  frequent.)    Were  the  evil  effects  of 


300  WAR  ON  THE 

these  diseases  limited  to  those  who  seek  clan- 
destine indulgence,  discussion  of  this  distaste- 
ful topic  might  be  reserved  for  them  only;  but 
since  he  who  has  acquired  either  of  these  dis- 
eases is,  for  an  indefinite  period,  a  possible 
source  of  contagion  to  his  associates — especial- 
ly to  his  bride  and  her  children — ^the  essential 
facts  should  be  understood  by  every  adult. 
These  facts,  so  far  as  they  concern  the  public 
welfare,  are  here  briefly  summarized: 

1.  Every  prostitute,  public  or  private,  ac- 
quires venereal  disease  sooner  or  later;  hence 
all  of  them,  are  diseased  some  of  the  time,  and 
some  of  them  practically  all  of  the  time.  The 
man  who  patronizes  them  risks  his  health  at 
every  exposure. 

2.  Medical  inspection  is  an  advantage  to  the 
prostitute  chiefly  because  it  gives  her  patron  a 
false  sense  of  security.  Even  the  most  elabor- 
ate and  painstaking  examination — and  such  is 
not  bestowed  upon  the  prostitute — may  fail 
to  detect  a  woman's  lurking  infectiousness; 
the  perfunctory,  routine  examination  actually 
made  affords  but  a  feeble  protection  to  the  pa- 
tron. Moreover,  at  the  first  cohabitation  after 
such  examination  she  may  acquire  disease 
which  she  may  transmit  to  every  subsequent 
patron,  until  it  is  perhaps  discovered  at  the 
next  examination. 

3.  The  many  antiseptic  washes,  lotions  and 
injections  upon  which  the  ignorant  rely  for 
protection  from  disease,  are  inefficient;  not  be- 
cause they  cannot  destroy  the  germs  of  dis- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  301 

ease,  but  because  they  do  not  penetrate  the 
skin  and  mucous  membranes  in  which  these 
germs  have  been  sheltered. 

4.  Gonorrhoea  in  the  male,  while  usually 
cured  without  apparent  loss  of  health,  has  al- 
ways serious  possibilities;  it  kills  about  one  in 
two  hundred;  it  permanently  maims  one  in  a 
hundred;  it  impairs  the  sexual  power  and  fer- 
tility of  a  much  larger  number;  it  often  pro- 
duces urethral  stricture,  which  later  may  cause 
loss  of  health  and  even  of  life;  and  in  many 
cases  it  causes  chronic  pain  and  distress  in  the 
sexual  organs,  with  severe  mental  annoyance 
and  depression.  The  loss  of  health,  time  and 
money  entailed  by  these  sequels  and  their  treat- 
ment may  far  exceed  that  occasioned  by  the 
original  disease. 

The  prevalent  notion  among  the  uninformed 
that  gonorrhoea  is  a  mere  annoyance,  "no 
worse  than  a  cold,"  is  based  entirely  upon 
lamentable  misapprehension. 

5.  The  persistence  of  this  disease  in  the 
deeper  parts  long  after  it  is  outwardly  cured, 
leads  to  the  unsuspected  communication  of  the 
disease  to  women  with  whom  the  individual 
may  cohabit.  Among  these  women  may  be 
his  bride,  who  thereupon  enters  upon  a  period 
of  ill-health  that  may  ultimately  compel  the 
mutilation  of  her  sexual  organs  by  a  surgical 
operation  to  save  her  life.  Much  of  the  sur- 
gery of  these  organs  performed  upon  womei^ 
has  been  rendered  necessary  by  gonorrhoea, 
contracted  from  the  husband.     Should   sh-? 


302  WAR  ON  THE 

while  infected  with  this  disease,  give  birth  to 
a  child,  the  baby's  eyes  may  be  attacked  by 
the  infection,  sometimes  with  immediate  loss 
of  sight.  Probably  25  per  cent  of  the  blind- 
ness of  children  is  thus  caused. 

6.  The  other  serious  venereal  disease,  syp- 
hilis, infects  the  blood  and  therewith  all  parts 
of  the  body.  For  months  after  infection  with 
this  disease,  the  individual  may  communicate 
it  by  a  kiss  as  well  as  by  cohabitation;  and 
articles  moistened  by  his  secretions — towels, 
drinking  glasses,  pipes,  syringes,  etc. — ^may  al- 
so convey  the  infection.  While  under  proper 
treatment  the  disease  is  not  dangerous  to  life 
in  the  earlier  years,  yet  the  possibilties  of  trans- 
mitting the  contagion  should  forbid  marriage 
for  at  least  three  years. 

The  most  serious  results  of  syphilis  appear 
years  after  its  acquisition,  when  the  individual 
has  been  lulled  into  a  false  sense  of  security  by 
long  freedom  from  its  outward  manifestations. 
It  attacks  all  organs  of  the  body,  slowly  and 
insidiously  producing  the  symptoms  of  con- 
sumption, dyspepsia,  liver  disease  and  many 
other  ailments.  Since  we  have  at  present  no 
reliable  means  for  proving  that  one  who  has 
acquired  the  disease  is  absolutely  cured  there- 
of, physicians  impress  upon  these  patients  two 
injunctions :  first  that  they  shall  take  the  known 
remedies  for  the  disease  one  or  two  months  in 
every  year,  and  second  that  they  shall  confide 
to  every  physician  whom  they  may  consult  for 
any  chronic  or  obscure  ailment,  the  fact  that 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  303 

they  have  been  infected  with  syphilis.  This 
latter  injunction  is  especially  important;  for 
nearly  all  disorders  produced  by  syphilis  can 
be  promptly  checked  by  certain  remedies;  yet 
many  of  these  disorders  affecting  internal  or^ 
gans  of  the  body,  may  not  be  identified  as  of 
syphilitic  origin  by  the  unsuspecting  physician, 
who  therefore  fails  to  administer  the  needed 
and  successful  remedy.  By  directing  the  doc- 
tor's attention  to  the  possible  syphilitic  origin 
of  the  disease  through  a  frank  confession  of  his 
early  infection,  the  patient  may  save  his  health 
or  even  his  life. 

These  serious  and  intractable  results  of 
syphilis  appearing  years  after  its  contraction, 
occur  especially  in  the  shape  of  disorders  of  the 
blood-vessels  and  of  the  nervous  system — 
apoplexy,  paralysis,  insanity  and  locomotor 
ataxia  for  example;  and  these  but  too  often 
appear  after  the  man  has  acquired  a  family 
that  is  dependent  upon  him  for  support.  The 
mental  state  of  the  husband  and  father  whose 
bread-winning  capacity  is  suddenly  abolished 
through  the  natural  result  of  his  early  folly, 
may  be  imagined. 

That  the  syphilitic  parent  may  transmit  the 
disease  to  his  offspring  is  common  knowledge ; 
some  of  his  children  are  destroyed  by  the  in- 
herited disease  before  birth;  others  are  born 
to  a  brief  and  sickly  span  of  life;  others  attain 
maturity,  seriously  handicapped  in  the  race  of 
life  by  a  burden  of  ill-health,  incapacity  and 


304  WAR  ON  THE 

misery  produced  by  the  inherited  taint;  while 
still  others  apparently  escape  these  evil  effects. 

Absolute  freedom  from  venereal  contagion, 
admittedly  a  prequisite  for  marriage,  must  be 
determined  by  expert  medical  skill;  apparent 
recovery  does  not  prove  that  the  disease  is 
really  eradicated.  Ignorance  of  the  difference 
between  real  and  apparent  cure  is  responsible 
for  most  of  the  venereal  infection  of  brides  and 
taint  of  children. 

The  present  popular  crusade  against  tuber- 
culosis is  laudable  and  must  result  in  a  dis- 
tinct restriction  of  the  "great  white  plague"; 
but  the  greater  black  plague,  syphilis,  could  be 
virtually  eradicated  in  a  few  generations, 
through  the  universal  practice  of  circumcision. 
Although  apparently  introduced  into  Europe 
less  than  four  centuries  ago,  it  has  already 
tainted  perhaps  one-sixth  of  the  total  popula- 
tion, and  it  is  steadily  spreading;  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  the  ratio  is  but  little  better.  (These 
percentages  are  merely  estimates,  since  there 
are  no  official  records  of  the  venereal  diseases 
except  in  public  institutions.) 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  305 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

RECRUITING  GROUNDS  OF  THE 
WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFICKERS. 

By  Harry  A.  Parkin,  Assistant  United  States 
District  Attorney,  Chicago. 

In  all  of  the  articles  which  have  been  pub- 
lished, and  in  all  the  addresses  made  respecting 
the  white  slave  traffic,  the  public  has  been 
warned  in  general  terms  to  beware  lest  daugh- 
ters and  sisters  in  their  own  towns  and  villages 
should  become  the  prey  of  the  white  slave  traf- 
fickers. In  these  articles  it  was  undoubtedly 
thought  best  to  spare  the  sense  of  security 
which  the  resident  of  a  peaceful  community 
usually  has,  by  failing  to  mention  specific  cities 
where  it  is  known  that  procurers  and  panderers 
of  girls  secure  their  victims.  In  an  article 
which  I  wrote  in  the  March  number  of  a 
magazine,  I  transgressed  to  a  slight  extent 
this  rule,  and  gave  as  an  example  the  story 
of  the  little  German  girl  from  Buffalo.  Those 
who  read  this  will  remember  this  pathetic 
case  of  a  child  widow  who  was  persuaded 
to  come  to  Chicago,  with  her  infant  in  her 
arms,  in  search  of  more  remunerative  employ- 
ment, and  who  was  there  sold  into  white  slav* 
ery. 


3o6  WAR  ON  THE 

Buffalo  is  not  the  only  city  which  is  a  hunt- 
ing ground  of  white  slave  traffickers.  I  think 
it  safe  to  say  that  every  city,  village  and  ham- 
let whose  daughters  are  fair  to  look  upon,  has 
been  or  will  be,  as  time  proceeds,  the  hunting 
ground  of  some  procurer  or  agent  for  the  white 
slave  syndicate.  I  do  not  say  this  rashly,  nor 
for  the  purpose  of  startling  villagers  where 
the  church  bell  and  the  school  bell  are  prac- 
tically the  only  sounds  which  break  the  peace 
and  quiet  of  the  community,  but  I  make  the 
statement  for  the  purpose  of  sounding  a  warn- 
ing to  that  very  resident,  that  very  mother, 
that  daughter,  who  sits  in  that  schoolhouse 
or  in  that  church  pew  and  believes  that  she 
is  safe  from  the  snares  of  the  traffickers  be- 
cause of  the  remoteness  or  the  inaccessibility 
or  otherwise  of  her  peaceful  village.  It  is 
not  alone  the  large  cities  that  furnish 
beautiful  girlhood  to  lives  of  shame  and  de- 
bauchery. It  is  not  necessary  to  go  to 
New  York,  Pittsburg,  Philadelphia  or  Kan- 
sas City  to  procure  beautiful  and  attractive 
girls.  It  is  well  known  that  out  on  the  prairies, 
in  Texas,  in  Missouri,  in  Iowa,  Kansas,  Ne- 
braska, in  fact  all  over  our  great  west,  there 
are  as  beautiful  types  of  womanhood  as  ever 
graced  God's  footstool.  It  is  these  that  the 
trafficker  is  seeking.  They  it  is  who  furnish 
the  easiest  victims  for  his  snares. 

As  a  prosecuting  officer  I  personally  can  tes- 
tify to  the  fact  that  very  many  cities  and  vil- 
lages now  have  in  the  red  light  district  of  Chi- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  307 

cago  and  other  cities,  daughters  who,  if  their 
names  were  mentioned  in  their  home  cities, 
would  bring  shame  and  disgrace  to  prominent 
and  honest  people.  There  are  girls  from  cities 
in  the  interior,  girls  from  small  villages  with 
hardly  a  thousand  inhabitants,  and  girls  from 
villages  of  this  size  and  cities  of  varying  popu- 
lation from  that  on  up  to  cities  of  the  size  of 
Boston  and  Pittsburg  and  other  great  com- 
mercial and  social  centers.  There  are  of  course 
some  cities  which  furnish  more  women  for 
prostitution  than  others.  I  shall  not  publish 
a  comparative  list,  but  will  suffice  by  giving 
a  list  of  cities  scattered  broadcast  from  which 
have  come  girls  and  women  to  the  great  white 
slave  market  in  Chicago  within  my  own  per- 
sonal experience.  Cities  which  have  fur- 
nished girls  and  women  for  this  purpose  are  as 
follows:  Toledo,  Ohio;  Youngstown,  Ohio; 
Detroit,  Michigan ;  Muskegon,  Michigan;  Mon- 
treal, Canada;  Troy,  New  York;  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin;  Peoria,  Illinois;  Bloomington,  Illi- 
nois; St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania; New  York;  Davenport,  Iowa;  Moline, 
Illinois;  Livonia,  Pennsylvania;  Whitehall, 
Michigan;  Waseca,  Minnesota;  Charleston,  Ill- 
inois. I  know  that  the  above  statement  will 
cause  a  thrill  in  some  of  the  cities  which  I  have 
mentioned,  but  I  believe  that  the  agitation  up- 
on the  white  slave  question  has  reached  a  point 
where  false  modesty  should  no  longer  prevent 
the  public  from  knowing  the  exact  situation 
however  much  it  may  cause  them  to  feel  a  sense 


3o8  WAR  ON  THE 

of  regret  that  their  city  or  village  has  furnished 
at  least  one  victim  to  the  sisters  of  scarlet. 

The  list  of  cities  is  not  confined  to  the  great 
group  of  cities  having  thousands  of  population, 
but,  as  you  will  note,  includes  small  villages 
where  it  would  hardly  seem  possible  that  girls 
could  go  astray.  I  might,  if  I  had  the  time  and 
space,  make  a  list  five  or  six  times  as  large,  but 
the  one  which  I  have  given  will  serve  my  pur- 
pose— that  of  sounding  a  warning  to  those  who 
least  suspect  that  their  daughters  and  sisters 
are  in  danger. 

To  those  of  you  who  do  not  reside  in  the 
cities  which  I  have  mentioned,  I  warn  you  not 
to  conclude  from  the  fact  that  I  have  omitted 
the  name  of  your  city  or  village  from  the  list, 
that  no  girl  has  come  from  your  community. 
It  may  be  that  I  shall  include  your  city  in  a  fu- 
ture list — at  any  rate  do  not  permit  yourselves 
to  be  lulled  into  a  false  sense  of  security. 

As  I  have  said,  some  of  the  cities,  much  to 
their  shame,  have  furnished  for  the  houses  of 
prostitution  in  Chicago  more  girls  than  others. 
For  example,  I  have  personally  known  for  a 
long  time  that  the  cities  of  Montreal,  Canada, 
Toledo  and  Youngstown,  Ohio,  and  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  have  furnished  probably  a  great- 
er average  by  one-third  than  any  of  the  other 
cities.  This  of  course  does  not  include  New 
York;  for  probably  more  women  come  from 
New  York  to  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  enter- 
ing a  house  of  prostitution  than  from  any  other 
city  in  the  United  States.    This  is  true  because 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  309 

it  has  an  extremely  large  population,  and  also 
because  of  the  fact  thai:  it  is  largely  through 
the  port  of  New  York  that  the  alien  prostitutes 
are  brought  into  the  United  States,  and  thence 
to  Chicago.  Some  of  the  other  cities  which 
I  have  mentioned  have  furnished  one,  two 
three,  or  more,  as  the  particular  case  might  be. 
This  to  me  is  sufficient  proof  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  and  probably  always  will  be  to  a  great- 
er or  less  extent,  until  we  crush  it  out,  a 
syndicate  or  system  which  is  continuously  op- 
erating and  seeking  new  fields  for  the  purpose 
of  ensnaring  innocent  victims  and  selling  them 
into  lives  of  shame. 

Troy,  New  York,  is  a  prolific  source  from 
which  Chicago  houses  of  ill  fame  receive  wom- 
en. In  a  case  recently  tried  in  the  Federal 
courts,  the  testimony  showed  that  one  girl  who 
had  been  found  in  a  house  of  ill-fame  in  Chi- 
cago had  originally  been  taken  to  a  house  at 
Troy  and  from  that  day,  when  she  was  eight- 
een years  of  age,  until  she  was  arrested  in 
Chicago  some  five  years  later,  she  had  been  in 
the  clutches  of  or  under  the  control  of  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  a  single  family  who  had 
kept  her  earning  money  for  them  during  all 
these  years.  The  peaceful  village  of  Charles- 
ton, in  southern  Illinois,  has  furnished  to  the 
panderers  of  lust  a  beautiful  Norwegian  girl, 
whose  parents  imagine  that  she  is  engaged  in 
a  legitimate  occupation  in  Chicago,  and  whose 
peace  of  mind  I  would  not  disturb  by  furnish- 
ing them  with  her  name.    Muskegon,  Michi- 


310  WAR  ON  THE 

gan,  is  a  field  to  which  the  white  slave  operator 
sends  at  frequent  intervals  for  fresh  girls.  It 
is  not  a  large  city,  but  seldom  does  the  procur- 
er go  there  without  returning  with  his  victim. 
Now  a  word  as  to  the  method  used  in  pro- 
curing girls  from  our  American  cities.  Some 
of  the  various  schemes,  which  are  used  by 
the  procurer,  have  been  detailed  in  these 
pages  in  preceding  articles,  and  I  need 
not  worry  the  reader  with  a  repetition  of  their 
details.  It  is  not  always  necessary  for  the  pro- 
curer to  go  from  the  city  to  the  country  village 
to  get  the  girl  he  is  seeking.  Indulgent  parents 
very  often  permit  their  daughters  to  come  to 
the  great  city  unaccompanied  by  any  protect- 
or ;  the  Sunday  excursion,  the  fat  stock  show,  a 
world's  fair,  some  theatrical  production,  a 
monstrous  convention — these  are  the  lights 
which  allure  the  daughter  and  sister  to  the 
city.  Perhaps  she  has  never  been  in  the  city 
before  and  has  no  relatives  or  friends  to  whose 
house  she  may  go.  Perhaps  she  has  been  in 
the  city  once  or  twice  before  and  has  met  a 
supposed  woman  friend,  who  has  taken  her  to 
her  house  and  shown  her  every  courtesy.  If 
the  former,  she  will  oftentimes  be  met  at  the 
railroad  station  by  a  young  man,  well  dressed, 
pleasant  and  affable,  who  offers  to  spend  his 
money  to  procure  her  a  cab  to  take  her  to  some 
respectable  hotel.  Unexperienced  in  the  ways 
of  the  city,  she  accepts  only  to  find  that  instead 
of  a  protector  she  has  found  in  the  affable 
young  man  a  procurer  for  some  vile  house  of 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  311 

prostitution.  Many,  many  times  have  instances 
like  this  occurred,  and  the  innocent  young  girl 
has  awakened  the  next  morning  to  find  herself 
situated  in  a  gaudy  bedroom,  without  clothing, 
the  prey  and  victim  of  her  procurer.  Her 
clothes  have  been  taken  away  from  her,  and 
upon  inquiry  she  finds  that  she  is  in  debt  and 
will  not  be  permitted  to  leave  the  house  until 
she  has  earned  sufficient  money  to  pay  back 
what  the  affable  young  man  has  spent  upon 
cab  fares  and  hotel  bills,  and,  in  addition  to 
that,  to  repay  the  price  which  the  keeper  of  the 
house  gave  to  her  seducer.  An  instance  of  this 
kind,  in  which  a  girl  had  been  procured  by  this 
identical  method,  was  related  by  Mr.  Sims  in 
a  magazine  article.  She  has  since  been  res- 
cued and  is  leading  a  respectable  life  back 
home  with  her  parents. 

Or  it  may  be  that  the  girl  from  the  country 
is  making  a  second  or  third  visit  to  the  city  and 
has  been  invited  to  again  visit  the  kind  and  el- 
derly lady  who  met  her  in  a  department  store 
and  so  kindly  cared  for  her  upon  her  last  visit. 
This  kindly  elderly  lady  usually  occupies  a  flat 
at  some  distance  but  within  easy  reach  of  the 
red  light  district.  It  is  sumptuously  furnished 
and,  as  the  elderly  woman  explains,  is  a  hom^ 
for  several  young  ladies  who  are  working  in 
stores  in  the  city.  Here  the  country  maiden  is 
given  every  luxury  free  of  expense,  is  enter- 
tained royally,  and,  alas,  very  many  times  be- 
fore she  attempts  to  leave  for  her  home  has 
been  caught  unawares  and  so  compromised 


312  WAR  ON  THE 

that  she  dare  not  face  her  home  folks  again. 
The  city  of  Chicago  in  certain  sections  is  full 
of  apartments  of  this  kind,  where  an  elderly 
lady,  usually  a  semi-retired  keeper  of  a  house 
of  prostitution,  has  furnished  an  apartment 
and  runs  a  supposed  respectable  home  for 
working  girls.  Three  to  five  girls  live  with  her. 
Her  telephone  number  is  furnished  to  hotel 
employees  and  elevator  operators,  to  "steer" 
male  inquirers  who  are  in  search  of  a  "pleas- 
ant evening"  to  the  flat  in  return  for  a 
commission  of  fifty  cents  or  a  dollar  for  each 
customer.  The  girls  who  live  in  this  class  of 
places  are  girls  who  come  from  the  country 
and  who  have  fallen,  but  who  are  not  low 
enough  to  go  to  the  regular  houses  of  prosti- 
tution in  the  red  light  district.  Clerks  from  de- 
partment stores,  whose  meagre  salaries  are 
not  sufficient  to  support  them  while  away  from 
their  parents,  seek  these  houses  as  a  means  of 
supplying  the  deficiency  in  their  weekly  earn- 
ings. They  are  thus  enabled  to  dress  tastily 
and  just  a  little  bit  better  than  the  virtuous 
girl  who  works  next  to  them  upon  the  same  sal- 
ary but  who  does  not  sell  herself  for  lust.  In 
suph  places  as  these  I  have  known  of  girls  who 
came  to  the  city  to  study  painting,  stenogra- 
phy, bookkeeping  and  other  occupations,  and 
who,  while  ostensibly  pursuing  their  daily  la- 
bor, are  all  of  the  time  going  to  these  houses  of 
assignation  whenever  there  is  a  dollar  to  be 
gained  which  will  place  them  in  a  position  tQ 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  313 

dress  better  or  go  to  some  place  of  amusement 
which  costs  money. 

What,  then,  shall  we  do  to  protect  our 
daughters  and  our  sisters?  That  is  the  ques- 
tion which  is  puzzling  not  only  prosecuting  of- 
ficers and  police  officials,  but  one  upon  which 
economists  and  charitable  organizations  are 
spending  months  debating.  One  safe  and  sure 
protection  we  all  have.  That  is,  do  not  permit 
the  daughter  or  the  sister  to  go  from  the  coun- 
try village  to  the  large  city  unless  you  know 
absolutely  and  beyond  the  peradventure  of 
doubt,  that  the  hotel  where  she  shall  stay,  or 
the  people  whom  she  shall  visit,  are  absolutely 
above  reproach  of  any  kind.  Advise  your 
daughter  and  your  sister  of  the  snares  which 
lay  in  her  path  before  it  is  too  late.  Forewarn 
her  so  that  she  shall  be  advised  in  time  to  spare 
her  the  great  anguish  and  the  pain  to  which 
she  may  be  otherwise  subjected. 

If  the  procurer  comes  to  the  village  in  search 
of  his  victim,  teach  the  daughter  and  the  sister 
to  have  no  confidence  in  affable  strangers,  well 
dressed  and  fluent  of  speech,  but  to  confide  al- 
ways in  her  mother  when  she  makes  an  engage- 
ment to  go  driving,  to  visit  an  ice  cream  par- 
lor or  to  go  to  the  city  with  a  male  escort. 


314  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

PRACTICAL  MEANS  OF  PROTECTING 
GIRLS. 

By  Harry  A.  Parkin,  Assistant  United  States 
District  Attorney,  Chicago. 

What  can  be  done  about  it? 

There  could  be  no  legitimate  excuse  for 
exploiting  the  white  slave  trade  in  the  public 
prints  without  the  definite  and  sincere  purpose 
of  securing  practical  and  substantial  protection 
against  this  terrible  social  scourge.  Such  is 
as  surely  the  purpose  of  this  article  as  it  has 
been  that  of  the  excellent  articles  by  Hon. 
Edwin  W.  Sims  which  have  brought  out  a  vast 
and  interesting  volume  of  correspondence. 

Many  of  these  letters  have  been  from  fathers 
and  mothers  aroused  to  anxiety  about  daugh- 
ters who  have  been  allowed  to  seek  a  liveli- 
hood in  large  cities  without  suitable  oversight 
or  protection.  In  some  instances  the  worst 
fears  of  these  parents  have  been,  by  definite 
investigation,  shown  to  be  all  too  well  found- 
ed. 

Other  letters  have  come,  by  the  score,  from 
public  officials  and  from  public  spirited  men 
and  women  who  have  at  last  been  stirred  to 
a  realization  that  there  is  an  actual,  syste- 
matic and  widespread  traffic  in  girls  as  definite, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  315 

as  established,  as  mercenary  and  as  fiendish 
as  was  the  African  slave  trade  in  its  blackest 
days.  And  practically  all  these  letters  indi- 
cate that  very  few  of  those  who  have  been 
finally  aroused  to  the  enormity  of  existing 
conditions  have  any  clear  idea  of  what  should 
or  may  be  done  to  protect  these  daughters  of 
our  own  people  from  the  ravages  of  the  white 
slave  traders. 

A  letter  from  the  Mayor  of  a  Connecticut 
city  is  t5^ical  of  the  common  misconception 
among  cultivated  and  well  informed  public 
officials  who  have  not  given  the  legal  phases 
of  the  repression  of  the  white  slave  trade  espe- 
cial and  exhaustive  study.  The  Mayor  writes: 

"I  should  think  that  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment would  have  to  pass  stringent  laws  pro- 
viding a  heavy  penalty  for  all  who  are  engaged 
in  this  business.  The  law  would  then  be  the 
same  in  all  states  and  people  could  not  escape 
from  its  provision  as  they  would  if  the  states 
tried  to  take  up  the  matter  and  passed  con- 
flicting statutes.  An  organization  might  se- 
cure the  passage  of  such  an  act  by  the  Federal 
Government,  but  it  hardly  seems  to  me  that 
it  is  necessary,  more  than  to  state  the  facts, 
and  have  the  members  of  congress  take  im- 
mediate action  that  would  put  an  end  to  the 
whole  matter." 

While  it  is  probably  true  that  the  Federal 
Government  has  power  to  prohibit  the  carry- 
ing of  women  from  one  state  to  another  for 
immoral  purposes,  that  power  has  not  yet  been 


3i6  WAR  ON  THE 

specifically  established  by  actual  tests  in  court 
and  is  therefore,  in  a  sense,  undefined.  On  the 
other  hand  the  states,  under  their  police  power, 
have  a  remedy  in  their  own  hands,  and  it 
would  seem  both  logical  and  natural  that 
this  power  be  exercised  in  the  protection  of  its 
own  homes  and  daughters.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
we  have  found  literally  scores  of  cases,  in  our 
investigations  relative  to  the  importation  from 
foreign  countries  of  girls  destined  for  immoral 
houses,  where  American  born  girls  have  been 
lured  or  kidnaped  from  a  home  in  one  state 
and  carried  to  some  large  city  in  another  state, 
there  to  be  broken  to  the  life  of  shame. 

The  federal  investigations  in  Chicago  and 
other  localities  have  clearly  established  the 
fact,  that,  generally  speaking,  houses  of  ill- 
fame  in  large  cities  do  not  draw  their  recruits 
to  any  great  extent  from  the  territory  immedi- 
ately surrounding  them;  for  obvious  reasons 
the  white  slavers  who  are  the  recruiting  agents 
for  the  vile  traffic  prefer  to  work  in  states  more 
or  less  distant  from  the  centers  to  which  their 
victims  are  destined. 

In  view  of  all  this  it  must  be  clearly  apparent 
that  the  need  of  the  hour  is  legislation  which 
will  make  it  as  difficult  and  dangerous  for  a 
white  slaver  to  take  his  victim  from  one  state 
into  another  as  it  is  for  him  to  bring  a  girl 
from  France  or  Italy  or  Canada,  or  any  other 
foreign  country,  to  a  house  of  ill-fame  in  Chi- 
cago or  any  American  city.  Therefore,  it  is 
suggested  that  if  each  state  in  the  union  would 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  317 

pass  and  enforce  severe  and  stringent  laws 
against  this  importation,  this  terrible  traffic 
would  be  dealt  a  blow  in  its  most  vulnerable 
part.  Such  an  enactment  might  well  be  word- 
ed as  follows: 

"Whoever  shall  induce,  entice  or  procure, 
or  attempt  to  induce,  entice  or  procure,  to  come 
into  this  state,  any  woman  or  girl  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution  or  concubinage,  or  for  any 
other  immoral  purpose,  or  to  enter  any  house 
of  prostitution  in  this  state,  shall,  upon  con- 
viction, be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  for 
a  period  of  not  less  than  one  (i)  nor  more 
than  five  (5)  years  and  be  fined  not  more  than 
five  thousand  ($5,000)  dollars." 

One  of  the  strangest  results  brought  about 
by  the  recent  white  slave  prosecutions  in  Chi- 
cago and  the  publicity  which  they  have  re- 
ceived, has  been  the  astonishment  of  thou- 
sands of  persons,  as  evidenced  by  letters,  at  the 
fact  that  such  a  wholesale  traffic  is  actually  in 
existence.  But  what  is  still  more  astounding, 
not  to  say  discouraging,  is  the  reluctance  of 
the  other  thousands  to  believe  that  many  hun- 
dreds of  men  and  women  are  actually  engaged 
in  the  business  of  luring  girls  and  women  to 
their  destruction,  and  that  this  infamous  traffic 
is  being  carried  on  in  every  state  of  the  union 
every  day  of  the  year. 

Perhaps  the  actuality  of  this  awful  avocation 
may  be  made  more  clearly  apparent  to  the  in- 
nocent and  unsophisticated  doubters  whose 
awakening  and  moral  support  is  needed,  if  I 


3i8  WAR  ON  THE 

cite  one  or  two  instances  which  have  come 
to  my  personal  knowledge  within  the  last  few 
days. 

In  a  comfortable  farm  home  in  a  state  bor- 
dering upon  Illinois  is  an  uncommonly  attrac- 
tive young  girl  who  has,  almost  by  accident, 
been  delivered  from  the  worst  fate  which  can 
possibly  befall  a  young  woman.  Through  se- 
cret service  operations  one  of  the  most  danger- 
ous "procurers"  of  this  country  was  traced  to 
the  home  ih  which  this  beautiful  girl  had  been 
adopted  as  a  daughter.  The  white  slaver  had 
already  ingratiated  himself  into  her  confidence 
and  that  of  her  foster-parents,  and  arrange- 
ments had  practically  been  made  by  which  she 
was  to  accompany  him  to  Chicago,  where  he 
had  a  "fine  position"  awaiting  her.  If  he  had 
not  been  located  and  his  character  made  known 
to  the  household  at  the  time  when  this  was 
done,  she  would  now  be  a  white  slave  in  a 
Chicago  den. 

Another  case  which  has  had  a  less  fortunate 
termination  is  that  which  involves  the  "fake" 
marriage,  a  subterfuge  common  in  this  wretch- 
ed traffic.  A  young  man  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  handsome  girl  in  the  North  Side  dis- 
trict of  Chicago.  He  was  polished  and  plausi- 
ble and  the  parents  of  the  girl,  who  were  am- 
bitious for  their  daughter's  advancement,  were 
apparently  flattered  that  he  should  bestow  his 
attentions  upon  her.  When,  after  very  brief 
courtship,  he  proposed  marriage,  they  offered 
no  objections  and  even  set  aside  their  own 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  319 

wishes  when  he  suggested  that  he  held  prej- 
udices against  being  married  by  a  clergyman 
and  against  having  a  formal  wedding.  Conse- 
quently they  went  before  a  "Justice  of  the 
Peace,"  who  pronounced  them  man  and  wife 
— a  "fake"  Justice,  who  was  merely  a  confeder- 
ate of  the  white  slaver.  They  went  at  once  to 
San  Antonio,  Texas,  he  having  claimed  that  he 
held  a  very  profitable  position  in  a  large  busi- 
ness concern  in  that  city.  When  they  arrived 
there  the  poor  girl  had  her  awful  awakening, 
for  she  was  promptly  sold  into  the  life  of  shame 
without  hope  of  escape  from  its  degrading 
servitude. 

Another  very  effective  regulation  which 
every  state  will  do  well  to  adopt  by  enactment 
of  its  general  assembly  is  that  making  the 
premises  leased  or  used  for  a  house  of  ill-fame 
liable  for  any  and  all  fines  against  its  lessee. 

The  following  seems  to  me  a  desirable  clause 
covering  this  point: 

"Whoever  keeps  or  maintains  a  house  of  ill- 
fame,  or  a  place  for  the  practice  of  prostitution 
or  lewdness,  or  whoever  patronizes  the  same, 
or  lets  any  house,  room  or  other  premises  for 
any  such  purpose,  or  shall  keep  a  lewd,  ill- 
governed  or  disorderly  house  to  the  encourage- 
ment of  idleness,  gambling,  drinking,  fornica- 
tion or  other  misbehavior,  shall  be  fined  not  ex- 
ceeding one  thousand  ($1,000)  dollars.  When 
the  lessee  or  keeper  of  a  dwelling  house  or 
other  building  is  convicted  under  this  section 
the  lease  or  contract  for  letting  the  premises 


320  WAR  ON  THE 

shall,  at  the  option  of  the  lessor,  become  void 
and  the  lessor  may  have  like  remedy  to  recover 
the  possession  as  against  a  tenant  holding  over 
after  the  expiration  of  his  term.  And  whoever 
shall  lease  any  house,  room  or  other  premises, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  for  any  of  the  uses  or  pur- 
poses finable  under  this  section,  or  knowingly 
permits  the  same  to  be  so  used  or  kept,  shall 
be  fined  not  exceeding  one  thousand  ($i,ooo) 
dollars  and  the  house  or  premises  so  leased, 
occupied  or  used  shall  be  held  liable  for,  and 
may  be  sold  for,  any  judgment  obtained  under 
this  section." 

Some  enactment  of  this  nature  is  particu- 
larly desirable  for  two  reasons :  First,  because 
actual  experience  has  shown  that  judgments 
obtained  against  keepers  of  such  houses  are 
difficult  of  collection  and  that  the  ones  against 
whom  the  judgments  are  obtained  are  remark- 
ably resourceful  in  avoiding  punishment  even 
after  conviction.  Second,  it  seems  obvious  that 
when  a  property  owner  knows  that  his  real 
estate  is  particularly  available  for  houses  of 
this  character  he  is,  if  unprincipled  enough  to 
do  so,  bound  to  encourage  the  use  of  his  prem- 
ises for  that  which  will  bring  him  the  largest 
money  returns.  This  puts  him  in  the  way  of 
fattening  upon  the  wages  of  the  social  vice 
without  incurring  danger  of  punishment.  Nat- 
urally he  becomes  a  friend  of  the  traffic  and 
ready  to  aid  and  abet  it  wherever  and  when- 
ever he  can.  Therefore  it  seems  to  me  he 
should  no  longer  be  allowed  to  escape  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  321 

penalties  attached  to  those  who  engage  in  this 
infamous  trade.  As  the  owner  of  the  property 
on  which  unlawful  acts  are  persistently  com- 
mitted, and  as  a  sharer  in  the  unlawful  profits 
of  those  acts,  he  should  be  made  to  share  also 
in  its  perils  and  punishments;  he  should  be 
made  to  feel  that,  as  the  owner  of  the  property 
used  for  the  purpose  of  harboring  fallen  women 
he  is  a  link  in  the  chain  which  draws  innocent 
womanhood  to  its  doom  and  that  he  must  suf- 
fer to  the  full  proportion  of  his  guilt.  Again, 
it  is  the  first  instinct  of  the  lessee  or  keeper 
of  such  a  house,  on  coming  in  contact  with  the 
law,  to  flee  and  forfeit  his  or  her  bonds.  By 
making  the  property  itself  liable  to  forfeiture, 
absolute  security  against  this  kind  of  thing  is 
established,  thereby  preventing  many  a  mis- 
carriage of  justice  and  of  just  penalties. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  recent  prosecu- 
tions in  Chicago  a  score  of  keepers,  realizing 
their  guilt  and  fearing  prosecution,  have  fled 
the  country  and  have  not  yet  been  apprehend- 
ed. If  both  the  federal  and  the  state  govern- 
ments had  a  law  of  this  kind  the  escape  of 
these  criminals  would  not  have  involved  a  com- 
plete defeat  of  the  law  in  their  cases,  for  prose- 
cution could  have  been  brought  against  some 
person  connected  with  their  establishments, 
and  when  a  conviction  was  secured  the  proper- 
ty occupied  by  them  could  have  been  closed 
out.  A  statute  of  this  kind,  wherever  enacted, 
can  scarcely  fail  to  prove  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  effective  of  all  possible  weapons 


322  WAR  ON  THE 

against  the  white  slave  traffic.  And  the  small- 
er the  city,  the  more  effective  will  this  weapon 
be  found — which  is  only  another  way  of  say- 
ing that  the  larger  the  city  the  larger  the  tol- 
eration of  the  social  vice. 

One  of  the  greatest  weapons  in  the  hands 
of  the  white  slavers  and  of  the  keepers  of 
houses  of  ill-fame  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
fresh  recruits  and  to  submerge  them  into  hope- 
less slavery  is  the  system  of  indebtedness 
which  is  practiced  in  these  places.  The  one 
object  of  those  concerned  in  the  subjugation  of 
a  girl  who  has  become  a  victim  of  the  wiles 
of  the  white  slaver  is  to  break  down  all  hope 
of  escape  from  the  life  of  shame  and  bitterness 
into  which  she  has  been  entrapped.  Nothing 
has  been  found  so  effective  a  means  to  this 
end  as  the  debtor  system.  The  first  thing  a 
girl  is  compelled  to  do  on  being  thrown  into 
one  of  these  houses  is  to  buy  an  expensive 
wardrobe  at  from  five  to  six  times  its  actual 
value.  To  be  more  definite,  I  have  in  my  pos- 
session bills  rendered  against  certain  inmates 
taken  from  the  dens.  In  these  bills  stockings 
costing  75  cents  have  been  charged  at  $3.00; 
shoes  costing  $2.50  are  charged  at  $8.00,  and 
kimonos  costing  $4.00  are  charged  at  $15.00. 
As  the  goods  themselves  were  seized  as  well 
as  the  bills  for  them,  I  am  able  to  make  this 
statement.  In  every  case  I  have  found  that 
the  girl  was  compelled  to  renew  her  outfit  of 
finery  whenever  the  keeper  so  dictated,  with- 
out regard  to  her  need  of  it.    Our  investiga- 


IN    THE    REFUGE 

Alone  in  the  world  with  no  one  but  her  baby  she  comes  to  the  refuge 
to  save  herself  from  starvation 


NOBODY'S  CHILDREN 

No  father — no  mother — no  name.    Can  you  imagine  anything  more  pitiful?    The  resul 

of  the  white  slave  traffic 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  323 

tions  have  all  shown  that  when  a  keeper  imag- 
ined that  a  girl,  an  inmate,  is  intending  to 
leave  the  place  either  openly  or  secretly,  a  new 
outfit  is  forced  upon  her  at  absurd  figures  and 
she  is  told  that  she  cannot  leave  until  every 
cent  of  her  indebtedness  has  been  wiped  out, 
and  that  if  she  attempts  to  do  so,  they  will  "put 
the  law  on  her."  In  the  dozens  of  cases  which 
I  have  examined  there  has  not  been  a  single 
one  which  has  failed  to  show  evidence  of  this 
kind.  I  have  in  my  possession  numerous  cop- 
ies of  bills  rendered  against  these  wretched 
women  in  which  their  costumes  reach  as  high 
a  figure  at  $1,200  and  even  $1,500.  This  in- 
debtedness system  is  mutually  recognized  and 
enforced  between  the  keepers  of  all  houses ;  in 
other  words,  no  girl  can  leave  one  house  and 
enter  another  unless  she  is  able  to  show  that 
she  leaves  no  indebtedness  behind  her. 

As  this  phase  of  business  in  the  underworld 
is  one  of  the  main  props  of  white  slavery  it  is 
well  to  go  into  it  with  definiteness  and  to  give 
examples  which  illustrates  its  operation. 

In  one  of  the  recent  raids  a  big  Irish  girl 
was  taken  and  held  as  a  witness.  She  was  old 
enough,  strong  enough  and  wise  enough,  it 
seemed  to  me,  to  have  overcome  almost  any 
kind  of  opposition — even  physical  violence. 
She  could  have  put  up  a  fight  which  few  men, 
no  matter  how  brutal,  would  care  to  meet.  I 
asked  her  why  she  did  not  get  out  of  the  house, 
which  was  one  of  the  worst  in  Chicago.    Her 

answer  was:   "Get  out — I  can't.    They  make 

21  '' 


3^24  WAR  ON  THE 

us  buy  the  cheapest  rags  and  they  aie  charged 
against  us  at  fabulous  prices;  they  make  us 
change  outfits  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
weeks,  until  we  are  so  deeply  in  debt  that  there 
is  no  hope  of  ever  getting  out  from  under. 
Then,  to  make  such  matters  worse,  we  seldom 
get  an  accounting  oftener  than  once  in  six 
months  and  sometimes  ten  months  or  a  year 
will  pass  between  settlements — and  when  we 
do  get  an  accounting  it  is  always  to  find  our- 
selves deeper  in  debt  than  before.  We've 
simply  got  to  stick  and  that's  all  there  is  to  it." 

To  frame  an  enactment  which  will  knock 
this  prop  of  indebtedness  system  out  from  un- 
der the  white  slave  business  might  appear  to 
be  a  most  difficult  matter,  and  yet  I  believe  that 
the  legislature  which  enacts  a  statute  of  which 
the  following  clause  is  the  essential  part  will 
go  a  long  way  towards  accomplishing  this 
most  desired  result: 

"And  whoever  shall  hold,  detain,  restrain,  or 
attempt  to  hold,  detain  or  restrain  in  any  house 
of  prostitution  or  other  place,  any  female  for 
the  purpose  of  compelling  such  female,  directly 
or  indirectly,  by  her  voluntary  or  involuntary 
service  or  labor,  to  pay,  liquidate  or  cancel  any 
debt,  dues  or  obligation  incurred  therein  or 
said  to  have  been  incurred  in  such  house  of 
prostitution  or  other  place,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  felony  and,  upon  conviction  thereof, 
shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  at  hard 
labor  for  not  less  than  two  or  more  than  ten 
years." 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  325 

There  is  only  one  other  enactment  which  all 
legislatures  should  be  urged  to  pass,  and  that 
is  one  which  strikes  directly  at  the  white  slaver, 
the  "procurer,"  the  owner  or  the  "fellow." 
Keepers  of  houses  of  ill-fame  have  discovered 
that  the  hideous  task  of  keeping  the  unwill- 
ing white  slave  in  subjection  is  much  easier 
if  a  certain  ownership  of  her  is  vested  in  a  man. 
In  many  cases  this  man  is  the  one  who  is  di- 
rectly responsible  for  placing  the  girl  in  the 
the  house,  but  this  is  not  invariably  the  case. 
When  it  is  the  case  he  receives  not  only  a 
lump  purchase  price  down  on  the  delivery  of 
his  victim  to  the  house,  but  he  is  recognized 
by  the  keeper  as  her  owner  and  master,  the  one 
to  whom  a  certain  percentage  of  her  income 
is  paid  and  with  whom  all  settlements  on  her 
account  are  made.  What  is  more  important 
in  the  eyes  of  the  keeper  is  that  this  man  is 
held  absolutely  responsible  for  the  girl's  sub- 
jection, and  if  she  attempts  to  escape  he  must 
cajole,  threaten  or  beat  her  into  subjection. 
In  one  of  the  recent  raids  I  chanced  to  come 
upon  visual  demonstration  of  how  this  pecul- 
iar phase  of  white  slavery  operates  in  actual 
practice.  One  of  these  "fellows"  was  disciplin- 
ing a  girl  whom  he  "owned" — and  doing  so 
by  the  gentle  process  of  forcing  her  against 
the  wall  with  his  hands  at  her  throat. 

Some  of  these  "fellows"  "own"  two  or  three, 
or  perhaps  more,  white  slaves,  and  on  the  in- 
come of  their  slavery  these  brutes  live  in  lux- 
ury at  expensive  hotels,  maintain  expensive 


326  WAR  ON  THE 

automobiles  and  lead  lives  of  luxury,  idleness 
and  dissipation. 

While  some  states  have  statutes  directly 
aimed  at  this  system,  it  has  been  found  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  secure  convictions  against 
these  most  contemptible  of  all  white  slavers, 
for  the  reason  that  all  of  the  existing  statutes, 
so  far  as  I  am  informed,  make  it  necessary,  at 
least  by  implication,  for  the  prosecution  to 
establish  the  fact  that  they  derive  their  entire 
support  from  white  slaves  under  their  control 
— in  other  words,  it  devolves  upon  the  state 
to  demonstrate  that  the  man  on  trial  has  no 
other  visible  means  of  support.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  defense  set  up  is  almost  invariably 
calculated  to  prove  that  the  man  on  trial  is  a 
solicitor  for  a  tailoring  establishment,  a  laun- 
dry or  some  other  legitimate  business  enter- 
prise. 

In  view  of  this  fact,  it  seems  to  me  an  enact- 
ment drawn  upon  the  following  lines  would  be 
effective : 

"Any  person  who  shall  knowingly  accept  or 
receive  in  whole  or  in  part  support  or  main- 
tenance from  the  proceeds  or  earnings  of  any 
woman  engaged  in  prostitution  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  felony  and  on  conviction 
thereof  shall  be  confined  in  the  penitentiary  not 
less  than  one  (i)  nor  more  than  three  (3) 
years  and  fined  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court." 

Not  long  since  I  was  asked  how  many  per- 
sons I  supposed  Chicago  contained  who  would 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  327 

come  under  a  statute  of  this  kind  and  who 
ought  to  receive  sentence  under  it.  My  reply 
was  this : 

"Probably  there  are  five  thousand  wom- 
en in  Chicago  today  following  the  so-called 
profession  of  prostitution,  and  it  would  seem 
to  me,  from  the  testimony  obtained  in  the 
course  of  the  recent  white  slave  prosecutions 
here  that  at  least  one-fourth  that  number  of 
male  parasites  are  supported  in  whole  or  in 
part  in  this  manner  and  would  therefore  come 
within  the  meaning  of  such  a  statute." 

So  much  for  specific  legislation  which  ought, 
as  a  protection  to  the  young  womanhood  of 
this  country,  to  be  passed  by  the  legislature  of 
every  state  in  this  country  not  already  hav- 
ing statutes  which  adequately  cover  all  the 
points  involved  in  the  clauses  which  I  have 
suggested.  The  next  practical  question  to  be 
raised — and  which  I  hope  every  reader  of  this 
article  will  ask — is  this: 

"How  can  the  legislatures  be  induced  to 
make  these  needed  enactments?" 

Or,  to  express  myself  a  little  differently,  if 
each  reader  were  to  ask  me: 

"What  is  the  quickest  and  most  practical 
way  by  which  I  may  get  action  on  the  legis- 
lature of  my  own  state?" 

I  would  suggest  the  following  methods: 
Find  the  names  of  the  men  who  represent  your 
district  in  the  general  assembly  of  your  state 
and  write  to  each  one  of  them  a  letter  sub- 
stantially as  follows : 


328  WAR  ON  THE 

"Hon..... 

"Dear  Sir: — I  am  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  legislation  against  the  white  slave  traffic 
proposed  by  the  Woman's  World  and  urge 
you  to  secure  the  passage  of  laws  which  shall 
embody  the  clauses  and  enactments  suggested 
in  the  enclosed  article  clipped  from  that  jour- 
nal. 

"You  surely  will  not  question  the  worthiness 
or  the  need  of  laws  of  this  kind  and  I  ask  the 
further  favor  of  a  reply  from  you  indicating 
your  attitude  with  regard  to  this  most  impor- 
tant matter. 

"Yours  sincerely,  " 

Also  I  would  suggest  that  readers  who  are 
members  of  churches  or  habitual  attendants 
upon  church  services,  take  this  matter  up  with 
the  pastors  of  their  churches,  each  requesting 
his  or  her  pastor  to  confer  with  the  other  pas- 
tors of  his  community  to  the  end  of  preparing 
a  petition  to  be  sent  to  the  representatives 
from  that  district  in  the  legislature,  urging  the 
passage  of  the  enactments  above  suggested. 
If  these  petitions  are  vigorously  circulated 
they  will  receive  the  signatures  of  practically 
the  entire  citizenship  of  every  community  and 
will  have  a  powerful,  not  to  say  compelling, 
influence  upon  the  representatives  and  state 
senators  who  receive  them.  Women's  Clubs, 
Law  and  Order  Leagues,  Christian  Endeavor 
Societies,  Epworth  Leagues,  Grangers  and 
'Farmers'  Institutes,  Young  Men's  Christian 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  329 

Associations,  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations and  Women's  Temperance  Unions  in 
every  city,  village  and  hamlet  of  the  country, 
can  also  exert  a  powerful  and  practical  influ- 
ence in  securing  such  legislation  as  a  protection 
against  the  ravages  of  the  white  slavers  by 
passing  suitable  resolutions  of  endorsement 
and  sending  those  resolutions  to  the  men  rep- 
resenting their  several  communities  in  the 
general  assembly  of  their  state.  While,  as  I 
say,  these  memorials  on  the  part  of  respected 
organizations  will  do  a  useful  work  in  shaping 
the  course  of  legislation,  this  will  not  take  the 
place  or  do  the  work  of  the  individual  personal 
letter,  and  every  reader  who  is  sincerely  and 
earnestly  interested  in  securing  such  legisla- 
tion as  I  have  outlined  will  miss  the  main 
stroke  of  influence  if  he  or  she  fails  to  write  a 
personal  letter  to  the  men  representing  his  or 
her  district  in  the  general  assembly  of  the 
state. 

And  whenever  such  a  letter  is  written  the 
various  clauses  given  in  this  article  should  be 
incorporated  in  the  letter;  this  will  put  your 
request  in  definite  and  explicit  terms,  a  result 
greatly  to  be  desired. 

I  cannot  close  this  article  without  recurring 
to  the  statement  made  at  the  outset  to  the 
effect  that  many  persons  still  remain  uncon- 
vinced that  the  white  slave  traffic  is  a  thing 
of  widespread  and  actual  existence;  that  it  is 
the  established  calling  of  hundreds  of  men  to 
lure  and  kidnap  innocent  girls  into  a  life  of 


330  WAR  ON  THE 

shame  and  to  sell  them  into  houses  of  prostitu- 
tion, where  they  are  kept  against  their  will  in 
the  most  revolting  of  all  human  slaveries. 

In  my  desk  at  this  moment  is  a  letter  from 
which  the  following  is  taken: 

"There  are  in  that  house,  No.  ,  two 

girls  by  the  names  of  Annie  and  Edith.  One 
has  been  there  for  two  years  and  is  not  allowed 

to  go  out  of  the  house is  not 

even  allowed  to  write  to  her  own  people,  and 
whose  mail  is  opened  and  read  before  she  is 
allowed  to  look  at  it.  The  other  girl  has  been 
there  seven  months  and  has  never  been  out 
of  the  house." 

This  letter  was  written  by  one  who  knew 
the  facts  in  the  case. 

A  very  few  days  ago  this  pitiful  case  was, 
in  an  official  way,  brought  to  my  attention. 
A  little  German  girl  in  Buffalo  married  a  man 
who  deserted  her  about  the  time  her  child  was 
born.  Her  baby  is  now  about  eight  or  nine 
months  old.  Almost  immediately  after  her 
husband  ran  away  she  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  an  engaging  young  man  who  claimed  to  take 
deep  interest  in  her  welfare,  and  in  that  of  a 
certain  girl  friend  of  hers.  He  persuaded 
them  both  that  if  they  would  accompany  him 
to  Chicago  he  would  immediately  place  them 
in  employment  which  would  be  far  more  prof- 
itable than  anything  they  could  obtain  in  Buf- 
falo. Supposing  that  the  work  awaiting  her 
was  entirely  legitimate  and  respectable  the  lit- 
tle mother  took  her  baby  and,  in  company  with 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  331 

the  young  man  and  with  her  friend,  came  to 
Chicago.  The  next  task  of  this  human  fiend 
was  to  persuade  this  "child  widow"  that  it 
would  be  necessary  for  her  to  place  her  baby 
temporarily  in  a  foundling's  home  in  order  that 
it  might  not  interfere  with  her  employment. 
This  accomplished,  he  took  the  two  young 
women  at  once  to  a  notorious  house  and  sold 
them  into  white  slavery.  Thenceforth  this 
fellow  has  lived  in  luxury  upon  the  shameful 
earnings  of  these  two  victims.  The  young 
mother  has  attempted  by  every  means  imag- 
inable to  escape  from  his  clutches  and  at  last 
has  importuned  him  into  a  promise  to  release 
his  hold  upon  her  on  the  payment  of  $300.  She 
is  still  "working  out"  the  price  of  her  release. 
It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  she  looks 
twice  her  age. 

One  other  example  from  the  current  history 
of  the  white  slave  trade  as  it  is  pursued  today. 
Only  a  few  nights  since  a  physician  was  call- 
ing professionally  at  one  of  the  houses  of  Chi- 
cago's "Red  Light"  district.  Two  men  and 
a  young  woman  entered  the  door  just  before 
him  and  took  seats  at  a  table.  A  glance  at  her 
fresh  and  innocent  face  was  enough  to  convince 
him  that  she  was  out  of  her  element  and  prob- 
ably unaware  of  the  character  of  her  surround- 
ings. Stepping  abruptly  to  the  table,  the  phy- 
sician looked  the  young  woman  straight  in  the 
eye  and  asked: 

"Madam,  do  you  know  that  this  is  a  house 
of  prostitution?" 


332  WAR  ON  THE 

"No,"  was  the  trembling  answer. 

"Are  you  a  woman  of  the  street?"  he  per- 
sisted. 

She  flushed  indignantly,  but  finally  replied: 

"No — I  am  a  respectable  woman  and  I  sup- 
posed I  was  being  taken  to  a  ladies'  cafe." 

Her  companions  bolted  for  the  door  and 
made  their  escape.  The  physician  then  called 
a  policeman,  who  escorted  the  young  woman 
to  her  home  and  found  her  statements  to  be 
true — that  she  was  a  respectable  girl  and  had 
believed  her  "friends"  to  be  taking  her  to  a 
respectable  restaurant. 

Tragedies  of  this  kind  are  happening  every 
day  and  all  over  this  country.  It  is  time  for  the 
decent  people  of  the  United  States  to  wake  up, 
realize  what  is  going  on  in  the  underworld  and 
to  take  strong  measures  to  protect  their  daugh- 
ters and  their  neighbors'  daughters  from  the 
hands  of  the  most  despicable  and  inhuman  of 
all  criminals,  the  white  slave  traders. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  333 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

LAWS  FOR  THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE 
WHITE  SLAVE  TRAFFIC. 

By  Harry  A.  Parkin,  Assistant  United  States 
District  Attorney,  Chicago. 

The  war  for  exterminating  the  white  slave 
traffic  has  progressed  so  rapidly  and  has  at- 
tained such  enormous  proportions,  that  it  is 
not  now  confined  to  one  state  or  country,  but 
people  from  every  state  in  the  United  States, 
in  Canada,  England,  and  other  foreign  coun- 
tries, have  taken  up  the  slogan  and  are  vitally 
interested  in  assisting  to  curb  the  monstrous 
traffic.  Laws  have  been  enacted  in  several  of 
the  states  during  the  past  sessions  of  their  re- 
spective legislatures.  In  other  states  new  laws 
are  contemplated.  Reports  are  received  by 
the  Committee  on  Legislation  daily  which  are 
indeed  encouraging  and  show  the  need  of  cen- 
tralizing the  effort  and  assisting  citizens  of  the 
different  states  who  so  frequently  are  at  a  loss 
to  know  exactly  what  to  do  when  a  white  slave 
case  comes  within  their  observation. 

To  meet  this  need  and  to  further  the  effort 
to  secure  proper  legislation,  the  Committee  has 
decided  to  publish  the  following  digest  of  the 
laws  of  every  state  in  the  Union,  so  far  as  prac- 
ticable, for  distribution  to  those  who  are  inter- 
ested in  this  warfare. 


334  WAR  ON  THE 

In  this  connection  the  Committee  desires  to 
acknowledge  its  very  deep  sense  of  gratitude 
and  appreciation  to  the  governors  of  the  re- 
spective states,  their  assistants  and  attorney 
generals,  for  the  data  furnished  by  them  con- 
tained within  these  pages.  It  is  indeed  an  en- 
couraging sign  when  men  in  high  public  office 
stop  for  a  time  from  the  stress  of  their  official 
duties  to  assist  in  a  world-wide  undertaking  of 
this  kind. 

The  reader  will  find  in  these  pages  all  of  the 
laws  of  each  state  in  the  United  States,  so  far 
as  obtainable,  which  affect  in  any  way,  and 
which  may  be  used  to  throttle  the  white  slave 
traffic.  There  will  also  be  found  simple  direc- 
tions to  be  followed  by  the  citizen  who  becomes 
acquainted  with  a  white  slave  case  and  who 
desires  to  have  it  properly  prosecuted.  The 
digest  has  been  made  as  simple  as  possible,  and 
technical  legal  terms  and  phrases  have  been 
avoided  where  possible  in  order  that  every  one, 
be  he  lawyer  or  layman,  may  be  able  to  read 
and  act  understandingly. 

The  Committee. 

UNITED  STATES. 

The  section  of  the  United  States  statutes 
which  is  the  basis  of  the  Federal  prosecutions 
is  known  as  Section  Three  of  the  Act  of  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1907.  It  may  be  found  in  United 
States  Compiled  Statutes,  Supplement  1907, 
page  392. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  335 

THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  SUPREME 
COURT  DECISION. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  on  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1907,  passed  what  is  known  as  the 
Immigration  Act.  This  Act  covers  twenty- 
three  printed  pages  affecting  the  immigration 
of  all  classes  of  peoples  to  the  United  States. 
Among  other  provisions,  Section  3  of  this  Act 
attempted  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  alien 
women  and  girls  for  immoral  purposes.  This 
section  was  made  sufficiently  broad  to  prohibit 
not  only  the  importation,  but  the  keeping,  even 
with  the  consent  of  the  alien,  of  any  foreign 
woman  or  girl  for  immoral  purposes.  The  Act 
is  as  follows: 

Sec.  3.  That  the  importation  into  the  United 
States  of  any  alien  woman  or  girl  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution,  or  for  any  other  immoral 
purpose,  is  hereby  forbidden;  and  whoever 
shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  import,  or  attempt 
to  import,  into  the  United  States,  any  alien 
woman  or  girl  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  or  whoever 
shall  hold  or  attempt  to  hold  any  alien  woman 
or  girl  for  any  such  purpose  in  pursuance  of 
such  illegal  importation,  or  whoever  shall  keep, 
maintain,  control,  support,  or  harbor  in  any 
house  or  other  place,  for  the  purpose  of  prosti- 
tution, or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  any 
alien  woman  or  girl,  within  three  years  after 
she  shall  have  entered  the  United  States,  shall, 
in  every  such  case,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  felony, 


336  WAR  ON  THE 

and  on  conviction  thereof  be  imprisoned  not 
more  than  five  years  and  pay  a  fine  of  not 
more  than  five  thousand  dollars;  and  any  alien 
woman  or  girl  who  shall  be  found  an  inmate 
of  a  house  of  prostitution  or  practicing  pros- 
titution, at  any  time  within  three  years  after 
she  shall  have  entered  the  United  States,  shall 
be  deemed  to  be  unlawfully  within  the  United 
States  and  shall  be  deported  as  provided  by 
sections  twenty  and  twenty-one  of  this  Act. 

It  is  this  section  of  the  Act  under  which  the 
prosecutions  in  the  Northern  District  of  Illi- 
nois were  instituted  by  United  States  District 
Attorney  Sims  in  June  of  nineteen  hundred  and 
eight,  and  which  resulted  in  the  imprisonment 
of  so  many  procurers  and  keepers  of  houses  of 
ill-fame.  Among  the  cases  which  were  tried 
before  a  jury  and  which  resulted  in  a  convic- 
tion of  the  keepers,  was  a  case  entitled  United 
States  V.  Keller  and  Ullman.  These  defend- 
ants were  charged  with  having  harbored  Irene 
Bodi,  a  native  of  Austria,  within  three  years 
after  she  had  entered  the  United  States,  and 
found  guilty  by  the  jury  and  sentenced  to  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth for  one  and  one-half  years  each.  They 
thereupon  prosecuted  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  alleging  among 
other  things  that  the  law  under  which  they 
were  convicted  was  unconstitutional,  in  that 
the  clause  "keep,  maintain,  control,  support, 
or  harbor,'*  attempted  to  embrace  powers  not 
given  by  the  constitution  to  Congress,  but  re- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  337 

served  to  the  respective  states  and  to  be  within 
their  police  powers.  This  contention  was  up- 
held by  the  Supreme  Court.  The  result  is  that 
so  much  of  Section  3  of  the  Act  of  February 
20,  1907,  as  attempted  to  prosecute  a  keeper 
who  simply  harbored  or  permitted  to  be  within 
his  house  of  prostitution  an  alien  woman  or 
girl  within  three  years  after  her  arrival  in 
this  country  was  wiped  out  of  the  statute,  and 
the  section  of  the  Act  must  now  be  read  as 
follows: 

Sec.  3.  That  the  importation  into  the  United 
States  of  any  alien  woman  or  girl  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution,  or  for  any  other  immoral 
purpose,  is  hereby  forbidden;  and  whoever 
shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  import,  or  attempt 
to  import,  into  the  United  States,  any  alien 
woman  or  girl  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
or  for  any  other  immoral  purpose,  or  whoever 
shall  hold  or  attempt  to  hold  any  alien  woman 
or  girl  for  any  such  purpose  in  pursuance  of 
such  illegal  importation,  shall,  in  every  such 
case,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  felony,  and  on  con- 
viction thereof  be  imprisoned  not  more  than 
five  years  and  pay  a  fine  of  not  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars ;  and  any  alien  woman  or  girl 
who  shall  be  found  an  inmate  of  a  house  of 
prostitution  or  practicing  prostitution,  at  any 
time  within  three  years  after  she  shall  have  en- 
tered the  United  States,  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
unlawfully  within  the  United  States  and  shall 
be  deported  as  provided  by  sections  twenty 
and  twenty-one  of  this  Act. 


338  WAR  ON  THE 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  by  comparing  the  Act 
as  originally  signed  by  the  President  and  the 
Act  as  it  now  reads,  after  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  that  it  is  necessary  in  every 
case  to  show  that  the  person  who  holds  the 
alien  had  directly  or  indirectly  imported  the 
same  alien  into  the  United  States  for  immoral 
purposes.  In  other  words,  the  federal  author- 
ities are  now  restricted  to  cases  where  they 
are  able  to  prove  that  the  defendant  imported 
the  girl  prior  to  the  time  she  was  found  in  his 
house  of  prostitution.  This  will  very  material- 
ly lessen  the  number  of  federal  prosecutions, 
as  it  is  extremely  difficult  in  the  vast  majority 
of  cases  to  show  that  the  person  in  whose  house 
the  alien  was  found  was  in  every  instance  re- 
sponsible for  her  importation.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  Congress  during  its  coming  session  shall 
see  fit  to  enact  remedial  legislation  which  shall 
correct  that  clause  of  the  Act  declared  uncon- 
stitutional, or  if  this  shall  be  found  impossible, 
to  at  least  broaden  the  present  scope  of  Section 
3  of  the  Imm.igration  Act  so  that  it  can  be  made 
more  comprehensive  and  far-reaching. 

Another  result  of  the  action  of  the  Supreme 
Court  is  to  emphasize  the  great  need  for  legis- 
lation by  the  respective  states  looking  to  laws 
which  shall  minimize  the  placing  of  girls  in 
houses  of  prostitution  within  the  several 
states,  and  which  shall  prevent  the  migration 
from  one  state  to  another  of  women  for  im- 
moral purposes.  Many  of  the  states  have  al- 
ready responded.    The  State  of  North  Dakota 


\        I 


> 


^^w 


# 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  339 

has  enacted  a  law  to  hit  White  Slavery.  South 
Dakota  has  done  the  same.  Illinois  has  al- 
ready passed  two  excellent  bills  drawn  on  the 
lines  suggested  in  the  March  issue  of  the 
Woman's  World.  The  State  of  Iowa  has  also 
enacted  a  law  aimed  at  White  Slavery. 

Procedure. 

Prosecution  for  violation  of  the  Federal  laws 
rests  with  the  United  States  district  attorney 
in  the  respective  districts.  The  matter  should 
be  brought  to  his  attention  and  the  evidence 
submitted  for  his  examination.  The  usual  pro- 
cedure is  to  then  present  the  matter  to  the  Fed- 
eral grand  jury,  if  one  be  sitting,  or  to  arrest 
the  defendant  and  prosecute  him  before  a  Unit- 
ed States  commissioner. 

ALABAMA. 

In  Alabama  any  person  who  takes  a  female 
from  her  father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  per- 
son having  the  legal  charge  of  her  without  his 
or  her  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution 
or  concubinage,  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the 
penitentiary  not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than 
twenty  years. 

Alabama  Code,  1852,  Sec.  3095;  1871,  Ch. 
56,  Sec.  3. 

Any  person  who  takes  any  female  unlaw- 
fully, against  her  will,  with  the  intent  to  com- 
pel her,  by  menace,  duress  or  force  to  marry 
him  or  any  other  person,  or  be  defiled,  shall  on 

conviction  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary 
22 


340  WAR  ON  THE 

not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than  twenty-one 
years. 

Alabama  Code,  1852,  Sec.  3094;  1871,  Ch. 
56,  Sec.  3. 

The  above  section  is  aimed  at  one  who  takes 
a  female  with  the  intent  to  compel  her  to  suffer 
the  crimes  enumerated.  There  is  a  further 
section  aimed  at  the  person  who  actually  ac- 
complishes the  result  intended  and  covered  by 
the  previous  section.  The  latter  section  is  as 
follows: 

Any  person  who  takes  any  female  and  by 
menace,  duress  or  force  compels  her  to  marry 
him  or  any  other  person  or  be  defiled,  shall  be 
imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  ten 
nor  more  than  twenty-one  years. 

Alabama  Code,  1871,  Ch.  56,  Sec.  3. 

It  is  no  defense  to  a  charge  of  abduction  that 
the  elopement  was  with  the  consent  of  the  fe- 
male and  at  her  request,  and  the  burden  of 
proof  as  to  the  chastity  of  the  woman  abducted, 
in  an  indictment,  is  upon  the  defendant. 

Any  parent  or  guardian  or  person  having 
charge  or  custody  of  a  female  such  as  is  men- 
tioned by  the  preceding  paragraphs,  who  per- 
mits or  encourages  or  abets  in  the  commission 
of  the  crimes  above  set  forth  can  be  punished 
the  same  as  the  person  who  actually  seduces 
the  girl. 

Alabama  Code,  1893,  Ch.  129,  Sec.  i. 

Procedure. 
Report  any  violation  to  the  prosecuting  of- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  34t 

ficer  of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  was 
committed. 

ALASKA. 

That  if  any  person,  under  promise  of  mar- 
riage, shall  seduce  and  have  illicit  connectioit 
with  any  unmarried  female  of  previous  chaste 
character,  such  person,  upon  conviction  there- 
of, shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than 
five  years;  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county 
jail  not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than 
one  year,  or  by  fine  not  less  than  five  hundred 
dollars  nor  more  than  one  thousand  dollars. 
A  subsequent  marriage  of  the  parties,  or  offer 
to  marry  in  good  faith,  is  a  defense  to  a  viola- 
tion of  this  section. 

Section   123,   Ch.   7,  Carter's  Annotated 
Alaska  Codes. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  District  Attorney  for 
the  district  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

ARIZONA. 

Every  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any 
female,  of  previous  chaste  character,  into  any 
house  of  ill-fame  or  assignation,  or  elsewhere, 
for  the  purpose  of  prostitution;  or  to  have 
illicit  carnal  connection  with  any  man;  and 
every  person  who,  by  any  false  pretenses,  false 
representations  or  other  fraudulent  means,  pro- 
cures any  female  to  have  illicit  carnal  contiec- 


342  WAR  ON  THE 

tion  with  any  man,  is  punishable  by  imprison- 
ment in  the  territorial  prison  not  exceeding 
five  years,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county 
jail  not  exceeding  six  months,  or  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  both 
such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Section  235,  Ch.  i,  Revised  Statutes  of 
Arizona,  1901. 

Every  person  who  takes  away  any  female 
under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  her 
father,  mother,  guardian,  or  other  person  hav- 
ing the  legal  charge  of  her  person,  without 
their  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  territorial 
prison  not  exceeding  five  years,  and  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars. 
Section  236.    Id. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  District  Attorney  for 
the  district  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

CALIFORNIA. 

"Every  person  who,  within  this  state,  takes 
any  female  person  against  her  will  and  with- 
out her  consent,  or  with  her  consent  procured 
by  fraudulent  inducement  or  misrepresenta- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  is  punish- 
able by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison  not 
exceeding  five  years,  and  a  fine  not  exceeding 
one  thousand  dollars.    266a.    Penal  Code. 

"Every  person  who  takes  any  female  per- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  343 

son  unlawfully,  and  against  her  will,  and  by 
force,  menace,  or  duress,  compels  her  to  live 
with  him  in  an  illicit  relation,  against  her  con- 
sent, or  to  so  live  with  any  other  person,  is 
punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison 
not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  four  years. 
266b.    Penal  Code. 

"Every  person  bringing  to,  or  landing  with- 
in this  state,  any  female  person  born  in  the 
Empire  of  China  or  the  Empire  of  Japan,  or 
the  islands  adjacent  thereto,  with  intent  to 
place  her  in  charge  or  custody  of  any  other 
person,  and  against  her  will  to  compel  her  to 
reside  with  him,  or  for  the  purpose  of  selling 
her  to  any  person  whomsoever,  is  punishable 
by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  nor  more  than 
five  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  in 
the  county  jail  not  less  than  six  nor  more  than 
twelve  months.    266c  Penal  Code. 

"Any  person  who  receives  any  money  or 
other  valuable  thing  for  or  on  account  of  his 
placing  in  custody  any  female  for  the  pur- 
pose of  causing  her  to  cohabit  with  any  male 
to  whom  she  is  not  married,  is  guilty  of  a 
felony.    266d.    Penal  Code. 

"Every  person  who  purchases,  or  pays  any 
money  or  other  valuable  thing  for  any  female 
person  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  her,  for  immoral  pur- 
poses, in  any  house  or  place  against  her  will,  is 
guilty  of  a  felony.    266e.    Penal  Code. 

"Every  person  who  sells  any  female  person 
or  receives  any  money  or  other  valuable  thing 


344  WAR  ON  THE 

for  or  on  account  of  his  placing  in  custody,  for 
immoral  purposes  any  female  person,  whether 
with  or  without  her  consent,  is  guilty  of  a 
felony."    266L    Penal  Code. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  District  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

COLORADO. 

"Any  male  or  female  person,  over  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  who  shall  procure,  encour- 
age, persuade,  induce,  or  prevail  upon  any  fe- 
male person  of  previous  chaste  character  to 
have  sexual  intercourse  for  hire,  with  any  male 
person  other  than  himself  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  felony,  and  upon  conviction  thereof 
shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary  for  not  less  than  one  year  or  more 
than  five  years. 

"Any  male  person,  over  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  who  shall  act  as  an  employee  or  servant 
in  or  about  any  room,  house,  or  place  of  pro- 
stitution, or  who  shall  engage  or  assist  in  oper- 
ating or  managing  any  room,  house  or  build- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  prostitu- 
tion, or  any  male  or  female  person,  over  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  who  shall  knowingly 
live  on,  or  be  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
the  money  or  other  valuable  consideration  real- 
ized, procured  or  earned  by  any  female  per- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  345 

son  through  the  prostitution  of  any  other  fe- 
male person  or  persons,  shall  be  deemed  guilty 
of  a  felony,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall 
be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  peniten- 
tiary for  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than 
five  years. 

"In  all  prosecutions  under  this  act  a  husband 
or  wife  shall  be  a  competent  witness  against 
the  other,  and  the  wife  may  be  compelled  to 
testify  on  behalf  of  the  people  in  any  prosecu- 
tion under  this  act  wherein  her  husband  shall 
be  a  party  defendant. 

"Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  held  to  alter  or 
in  any  manner  affect  the  laws  relating  to  in- 
cest, the  infamous  crime  against  nature,  seduc- 
tion, adultery,  rape,  fornication,  or  other  kin- 
dred offenses  against  the  person  or  the  public 
morals,  nor  any  prosecution  for  such  offenses." 
Session  Laws  of  1909. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  evidence  of  the  violation  believed 
to  have  been  committed  to  the  City  Attorney  or 
District  Attorney  of  the  city  or  county  in  which 
the  crime  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 

DELAWARE. 

"Any  person  having  the  care,  custody,  or 
control  of  any  minor  child  under  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  who  shall  in  any  manner,  sell, 
apprentice,  give  away,  or  otherwise  dispose  of 
such  minor,  or  any  person  who  shall  take,  re- 
ceive, or  employ  such  child  for  the  purpose  of 


346  WAR  ON  THE 

prostitution,  or  any  person  who  shall  retain, 
harbor,  or  employ  any  minor  child  in  or  about 
any  assignation  house  or  brothel,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  con- 
viction thereof  before  any  justice  of  the  peace 
or  court  of  record  shall  be  fined  not  less  than 
twenty  dollars  nor  more  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  each  and  every  offense." 

Sec.  2,  Chap.  150,  Vol.  16,  Laws  of  Del- 
aware as  amended  1895. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  matter  to  the  prosecuting  officer 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

FLORIDA. 

"Whoever  fraudulently  and  deceitfully  en- 
tices or  takes  away  an  unmarried  woman,  of 
a  chaste  life  and  conversation,  from  her  father's 
house,  or  wherever  else  she  may  be  found,  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution  at  a  house  of  ill- 
fame,  assignation  or  elsewhere,  and  whoever 
aids  and  assists  in  such  abduction  for  such  pur- 
pose, shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
state  prison  not  exceeding  three  years,  or  in  the 
county  jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  fine 
not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars." 
Section  3523,  Florida  Stat. 

"Whoever  procures  for  prostitution,  or 
causes  to  be  prostituted,  any  unmarried  female 
who  is  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years  shall  be 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  347 

punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison 
not  exceeding  ten  years." 

Sec.  3537,  Florida  Statutes. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  State's  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

GEORGIA. 

The  State  of  Georgia  apparently  has  no  law 
bearing  upon  the  specific  crimes  enumerated 
in  the  various  other  states.  The  attorney  gen- 
eral for  the  state  writes  as  follows: 

"Georgia  has  no  law  bearing  upon  the  spe- 
cific question  in  issue,  but  it  would  be  in  the 
very  nature  of  things  a  crime  for  any  person 
or  persons  to  assist  in  inducing  girls  to  houses 
of  ill  fame.  They  would  at  least  be  particeps 
criminis,  and  under  the  general  laws  on  the 
subject  which  include  all  crimes,  be  punished 
as  principals.  Aside  from  that,  as  stated,  we 
have  no  law  bearing  directly  on  the  subject." 

IDAHO. 

Every  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any 
unmarried  female,  of  previous  chaste  char- 
acter, under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  into 
any  house  of  ill-fame,  or  of  assignation,  or  else- 
where, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  to 
have  illicit  carnal  connection  with  any  man; 
and  every  person  who  aids  or  assists  in  such 


348  WAR  ON  THE 

inveiglement  or  enticement,  is  punishable  by 
imprisonment  in  the  state  prison,  not  exceed- 
ing five  years,  or  by  imprisonment  in  a  county 
jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  both 
such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Sec.  6770,  Idaho  Revised  Code,  Vol.  2, 
1908. 

Every  person  who  takes  away  any  female 
under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  her 
father,  mother,  guardian,  or  other  person  hav- 
ing the  legal  charge  of  her  person,  without 
their  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  exceeding  five  years,  and  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars. 
Sec.  6771.    Id. 

Any  proprietor,  keeper,  manager,  conductor, 
or  person  having  the  control,  of  any  house  of 
prostitution,  or  any  house  or  room  resorted  to 
for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  who  shall  admit 
or  keep  any  minor  of  either  sex  therein,  or  any 
parent  or  guardian  of  any  such  minor  who  shall 
admit  or  keep  such  minor,  or  sanction,  or  con- 
nive at  the  admission  or  keeping  thereof,  into, 
or  in  any  such  house  or  room,  shall  be  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor. 
Sec.  6772.    Id. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  in  the  case  to  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  the  county  in  which  the  crime 
is  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  349 

ILLINOIS. 

It  IS  believed  that  the  statutes  passed  by  the 
recent  legislature  of  Illinois  present  model  laws 
which  may  well  be  copied  by  any  state.  These 
laws  are  therefore  published  in  full.  They  are 
as  follows : 

SESSION  LAWS,  1909,  P.  179. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  detention,  by  debt  or 
otherwise,  of  female  persons  in  houses  of  pros- 
titution or  other  places  where  prostitution  is 
practiced  or  allowed,  and  providing  for  the 
punishment  thereof. 

Section  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  As- 
sembly. That  whoever  shall  by  any  means 
keep,  hold,  detain,  against  her  will,  or  restrain 
any  female  person  in  a  house  of  prostitution  or 
other  place  where  prostitution  is  practiced  or 
allowed;  or  whoever  shall,  directly  or  indirect- 
ly, keep,  hold,  detain  or  restrain  or  attempt  to 
keep,  hold,  detain  or  restrain,  in  any  house  of 
prostitution  or  other  place  where  prostitution 
is  practiced  or  allowed,  any  female  person,  by 
any  means,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  such 
female  person,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  pay, 
liquidate  or  cancel  any  debt,  dues  or  obliga- 
tions incurred  or  said  to  have  been  incurred  by 
such  female  person,  shall,  upon  conviction  for 
the  first  offense  under  this  Act  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  or  House  of 
Correction  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  six 


350  WAR  ON  THE 

months  nor  more  than  one  year,  and  by  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  three  hundred  dollars  and  not 
to  exceed  one  thousand  dollars,  and  upon  con- 
viction for  any  subsequent  offense  under  this 
act  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one 
year  nor  more  than  five  years. 

SESSION  LAWS,  1909,  PAGE  180. 

An  Act  to  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  in 
relation  to  pandering;  to  definie  and  prohibit 
the  same;  to  provide  for  punishment  thereof; 
for  the  competency  of  certain  evidence  at  the 
trial  thereof,  and  providing  what  shall  be  a 
defense,"  approved  June  i,  1908;  in  force  July 
1, 1908,  and  also  the  title  of  said  Act. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  represented  in  the  General  Assembly. 
That  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  in  relation  to 
pandering ;  to  define  and  prohibit  the  same ;  to 
provide  for  the  punishment  thereof;  for  the 
competency  of  certain  evidence  at  the  trial 
therefor,  and  providing  what  shall  be  a  de- 
fense," approved  June  i,  1908;  in  force  July  i, 
1908,  including  the  title  of  said  Act,  be  amend- 
ed so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

Section  i.  Any  person  who  shall  procure  a 
female  inmate  for  a  house  of  prostitution,  or 
who,  by  promises,  threats,  violence,  or  by  any 
device  or  scheme  shall  cause,  induce,  persuade 
or  encourage  a  female  person  to  become  an  in- 
mate of  a  house  of  prostitution;  or  shall  pro- 
cure a  place  as  inmate  in  a  house  of  prostitution 


WHITE  SLAVE  TPADE  351 

for  a  female  person;  or  any  person  who  shall, 
by  promises,  threats,  violence,  or  by  any  device 
or  scheme  cause,  induce,  persuade  or  encourage 
an  inmate  of  a  house  of  prostitution  to  remain 
therein  as  such  inmate;  or  any  person  who 
shall,  by  fraud  or  artifice,  or  by  duress  of  person 
or  goods,  or  by  abuse  of  any  position  of  confi- 
dence or  authority  procure  any  female  person 
to  become  an  inmate  of  a  house  of  ill  fame,  or 
to  enter  any  place  in  which  prostitution  is  en- 
couraged or  allowed  within  this  State,  or  to 
come  into  this  State  or  leave  this  State  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution,  or  who  shall  procure 
any  female  person,  who  has  not  previously 
practiced  prostitution  to  become  an  inmate  of 
a  house  of  ill  fame  within  this  State,  or  to  come 
into  this  State  or  leave  this  State  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution;  or  shall  receive  or  give 
or  agree  to  receive  or  give  any  money  or  thing 
of  value  for  procuring  or  attempting  to  procure 
any  female  person  to  become  an  inmate  of  a 
house  of  ill  fame  within  this  State,  or  to  come 
into  this  State  or  leave  this  State  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution,  shall  be  guilty  of  pander- 
ing, and  upon  a  first  conviction  for  an  offense 
under  this  act  shall  be  punished  by  imprison- 
ment in  the  County  Jail  or  House  of  Correction 
for  a  period  of  not  less  than  six  months  nor 
more  than  one  year,  and  by  a  fine  of  not  lesr 
than  three  hundred  dollars  and  not  to  exceed 
one  thousand  dollars,  and  upon  conviction  for 
any  subsequent  offense  under  this  act  shall  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 


352  WAR  ON  THE 

for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  year  nor  moire 
than  ten  years. 

Section  2.  It  shall  not  be  a  defense  to  a 
prosecution  for  any  of  the  acts  prohibited  in 
the  foregoing  section  that  any  part  of  such  act 
or  acts  shall  have  been  committed  outside  this 
State,  and  the  offense  shall  in  such  case  be 
deemed  and  alleged  to  have  been  committed 
and  the  offender  tried  and  punished  in  any 
County  in  which  the  prostitution  was  intended 
to  be  practiced,  or  in  which  the  offense  was 
consummated,  or  any  overt  acts  in  furtherance 
of  the  offense  should  have  been  committed. 

Section  3.  Any  such  female  person,  referred 
to  in  the  foregoing  sections,  shall  be  a  compe- 
tent witness  in  any  prosecution  under  this  Act, 
to  testify  for  or  against  the  accused  as  to  any 
transaction  or  as  to  any  conversation  with  the 
accused  or  by  him  with  another  person  or  per- 
sons in  her  presence,  notwithstanding  her  hav- 
ing married  the  accused  before  or  after  the  vio- 
lation of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
whether  called  as  a  witness  during  the  exist- 
ence of  the  marriage  or  after  its  dissolution. 

Section  4.  The  act  or  state  of  marriage  shall 
not  be  a  defense  to  any  violation  of  this  Act. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  state's  attorney  of 
the  county  wherein  the  crime  was  committed. 
If  the  state's  attorney  is  not  accessible,  present 
the  matter  to  the  nearest  justice  of  the  peace. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  353 

INDIANA. 

In  Indiana  whoever  entices  or  takes  away  any 
female  of  previous  chaste  character  to  any 
place  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  shall  be 
imprisoned  not  less  than  two  years  nor  more 
than  five,  or  placed  in  the  county  jail  not  ex- 
ceeding one  year  and  fined  not  exceeding  five 
hundred  dollars.     Section  459,  Statutes  1907, 

The  keeper  of  a  house  of  ill  fame,  or  a  person 
who  lets  a  house  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution 
shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten 
dollars  nor  more  than  one  hundred  to  which 
may  be  added  imprisonment  not  exceeding  six 
months  in  the  county  jail.  Sec.  460,  Statutes 
1907. 

"Whoever  induces,  decoys  or  procures  or 
compels  any  female  under  eighteen  years  of 
age,  or  causes  any  female  over  eighteen  years 
of  age,  against  her  will,  to  have  sexual  inter- 
qourse  with  any  person  other  than  himself;  or 
whoever  knowingly  permits  any  other  person 
to  have  sexual  intercourse  with  any  female  of 
good  repute  or  chastity  upon  premises  owned 
or  controlled  by  him,  shall  be  fined  not  less  than 
ten  dollars  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars, 
to  which  may  be  added  imprisonment  in  the 
county  jail  not  less  than  one  month  nor  more 
than  six  months."    Section  469,  Statutes  1907. 

Any  male  person  who  frequents  or  visits  a 
house  or  houses  of  ill  fame  or  of  assignation 
except  as  a  physician  or  who  is  engaged  in  or 
about  the  house  of  prostitution,  shall  upon  con- 


354  WAR  ON  THE 

viction  be  fined  not  less  than  ten  dollars  nor 
more  than  one  hundred  dollars  and  imprisoned 
in  the  county  jail  not  less  than  ten  days  nor 
more  than  sixty  days.  Section  470,  Statutes 
1907. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  to  a  justice  of  the  peace  or 
to  the  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county  in 
which  the  crime  was  committed. 

IOWA. 

"If  any  person  take  or  entice  away  any  un- 
married female  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  he  shall  be  im- 
prisoned in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  five 
years,  or  be  fined  not  more  than  one  thousand 
dollars  and  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not 
more  than  one  year." 

Sec.  4760,  Code  of  Iowa. 

"That  any  person  who  shall  ask,  request,  or 
solicit  another  to  have  carnal  knowledge  with 
any  female  for  a  consideration  or  otherwise, 
shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  pen- 
itentiary not  exceeding  five  years,  or  impris- 
onment in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars,  or  both,  such  fine  and  jail  imprison- 
ment."   Sec.  4975c.    Code  of  la. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  county  attorney  of  the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  355 

county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to  have 
been  committed. 

LOUISIANA. 

"That  any  person  who  shall  fraudulently,  de- 
ceitfully or  by  any  false  representation,  entice, 
abduct,  induce,  decoy,  hire,  engage,  employ 
or  take  any  woman  of  previous  chaste  char- 
acter from  her  father's  house,  or  from  any 
other  place  where  she  may  be,  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution  or  for  any  unlawful  sexual  in- 
tercourse, at  a  house  of  ill-fame  or  at  any  other 
place  of  like  character,  or  elsewhere,  and  any 
person  who  shall  knowingly  or  intentionally 
aid,  abet,  assist,  devise  or  encourage  any  such 
enticing,  abduction,  inducing,  decoying,  hir- 
ing, engaging,  employing  or  taking,  shall  on 
conviction  be  punished  by  imprisonment  at 
hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary  for  not  more 
than  five  years. 

"That  any  person  who  shall  detain  any  wo- 
man against  her  will  by  force,  threats,  putting 
in  bodily  fear,  or  by  any  other  means,  at  a 
house  of  ill-fame,  or  any  other  place  of  any 
other  name  or  description,  for  the  purpose  of 
prostitution  or  for  any  unlawful  sexual  inter- 
course; and  any  person  who  shall  aid,  abet, 
advise,  encourage  or  assist  in  any  such  deten- 
tion, shall  on  conviction  be  punished  by  im- 
prisonment at  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary 
for  not  more  than  five  years. 

"That  any  person  who  shall  unlawfully  and 
carnally  know  any  female  idiot^  or  insane  or 

23 


356  WAR  ON  THE 

imbecile  woman  or  girl,  knowing  her  to  be  so, 
shall  on  conviction  be  punished  by  imprison- 
ment in  the  state  penitentiary  at  hard  labor 
for  not  more  than  ten  years."  Act  134,  1890, 
page  175. 

Procedure. 

If  the  crime  is  committed  within  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  report  the  matter  to  the  Attor- 
ney General  or  to  the  District  Attorney.  If 
committed  outside  the  city  of  New  Orleans, 
report  the  matter  to  the  District  Attorney  in 
whose  jurisdiction  the  crime  is  alleged  to  have 
been  committed. 

KANSAS. 

It  is  unlawful  for  any  person  to  take  away 
any  female  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
from  her  father,  mother,  guardian,  or  other 
person  having  charge  of  her  person,  without 
their  consent,  either  for  the  purpose  of  prosti- 
tution or  living  with  her  as  a  concubine.  The 
punishment  is  confinement  at  hard  labor  not  to 
exceed  five  years.  Section  2020,  General  Stat- 
utes, 1 901. 

It  is  unlawful  to  entice,  decoy,  place,  take  or 
receive,  any  female  person  under  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  into  any  disorderly  house  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution.  Any  person  who  has  a 
child  in  his  custody  and  who  shall  dispose  of  it 
and  shall  place  it  where  it  can  be  used  for  an  ob- 
scene, indecent  or  immoral  purpose,  exhibition 
or  practice,  shall,  upon  conviction,  be  confined 
in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less  than  one  year 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  357 

or  more  than  two  years.    Sees.  20-35,  General 
Statutes,  1 90 1. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  county  attorney  of 
the  county  wherein  the  crime  was  committed. 
The  county  attorney  will  prosecute  the  case. 

KENTUCKY. 

"Any  person  who  shall  be  found  guilty  of  in- 
ducing, persuading,  aiding  or  abetting,  or  en- 
citing  any  female  who  has  never  been  married, 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  to  enter  a 
house  of  ill-fame,  house  of  prostitution,  as- 
signation or  bawdy  house,  whereby  such  fe- 
male so  induced,  persuaded,  aided  or  enticed, 
shall  be  seduced  and  lose  her  virtue,  shall,  up- 
on indictment  and  conviction,  be  confined  in 
the  penitentiary  not  less  than  two,  nor  more 
than  five  years."    Sec.  121 5  Kentucky  Statutes. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  county  attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

MAINE. 

"Whoever  fraudulently  and  deceitfully  en- 
tices or  takes  away  an  unmarried  female  from 
her  father's  house,  or  wherever  else  she  may  be 
found,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  at  a 
house  of  ill-fame,  assignation  or  elsewhere, 
and  whoever  aids  therein,  or  secretes  such  fe- 


358  WAR  ON  THE 

male  for  such  purposes;  or  whoever  inveigles 
or  entices  any  female,  before  reputed  virtuous, 
to  a  house  of  ill-fame,  or  knowingly  conceals 
or  aids  in  concealing  any  such  female,  so  en- 
ticed, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  lewd- 
ness, shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  for 
not  less  than  one,  nor  more  than  ten  years." 
Chap.  125,  Sec.  10,  Revised  Stat.  Maine. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  County  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

MARYLAND. 

The  Maryland  code  of  public  general  laws 
contains  the  following  statutes  relative  to  the 
subject  in  question: 

Article  27  provides  that  any  person  who 
shall,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  forcibly 
abduct  from  the  home  of  her  parents  or  her 
usual  place  of  abode,  any  female  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  shall  upon  conviction  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  eight  years. 

For  keeping  a  bawdy  house  or  house  of  ill- 
fame  Section  18  provides  a  fine  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars  or  imprisonment  in  jail  or  the 
house  of  correction  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
one  year,  or  both. 

Sections  116  and  117  provide  a  fine  of  not 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  359 

less  than  $200.00  nor  more  than  $1,000.00,  or 
confinement  in  jail  or  the  house  of  correction 
for  a  period  of  two  months  or  not  more  than 
twelve  months,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment, 
for  the  lessee,  manager,  etc.,  of  a  music  hall, 
resort  or  other  place  of  amusement,  to  employ, 
allow  or  engage  female  sitters  who  may  par- 
take of  any  drink,  eatables,  refreshments,  etc., 
at  the  expense  of  some  other  or  solicit  others 
to  purchase  the  same. 

Procedure. 

Report  any  violation  of  the  above  laws  which 
come  within  your  knowledge  to  the  proper 
prosecuting  officer  of  the  county  in  which  the 
crime  was  committed. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Whoever  fraudulently  and  decdtfuHy  en- 
tices or  takes  away  an  unmarried  woman  of  a 
chaste  life  from  her  father's  house  or  where- 
ever  else  she  may  be  found,  for  the  purpose  of 
prostitution  or  for  the  purpose  of  unlawful  sex- 
ual intercourse  at  a  house  of  ill-fame  or  assig- 
nation or  elsewhere,  and  whoever  aids  and  as- 
sists in  such  abduction  for  such  purpose,  shall 
be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  for  not  more  than  three  years  or  in  jail 
for  not  more  than  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  of  not 
more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  both 
such  fine  and  imprisonment  in  jail. 

Sec.  2,  Chap.  212,  Vol.  2;  Revised  Laws  of 
Mass.,  I  go  I. 


36o  WAR  ON  THE 

Whoever,  being  the  owner  of  a  place  or  hav- 
ing or  assisting  in  the  management  or  control 
thereof,  induces  or  knowingly  suffers  a  female 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  to  resort 
to  or  be  in  or  upon  such  place,  for  the  purpose 
of  unlawfully  having  sexual  intercourse,  shall 
be  punished  as  provided  in  Section  3. 
Sec.  6.    Id. 

Whoever  knowingly  sends,  or  aids  or  abets 
in  sending,  a  woman  or  girl  to  enter  as  an  in- 
mate or  a  servant,  a  house  of  ill-fame  or  other 
place  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  prostitu- 
tion shall  for  each  offense  be  punished  by  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  one  hundred,  nor  more  than 
five  hundred  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for 
not  less  than  three  months  nor  more  than  two 
years.  Whoever  as  proprietor  or  keeper  of 
an  intelligence  or  employment  office,  either 
personally  or  through  an  agent  or  employe, 
sends  a  woman  or  girl  to  enter  as  aforesaid  a 
house  of  ill-fame  or  other  place  resorted  to  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution,  the  character  of 
which  on  reasonable  inquiry  could  have  been 
ascertained  by  him,  shall  for  each  offense  be 
punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  fifty  nor 
more  than  two  hundred  dollars. 
Section  8.    Id. 

Whoever,  for  any  length  of  time,  unlawfully 
detains  or  attempts  to  detain,  or  aids  or  abets 
in  unlawfully  detaining  or  attempting  to  de- 
tain, or  administers  or  aids  in  administering 
any  drug  for  the  purpose  of  detaining,  a  wo- 
man or  girl  in  a  house  of  ill-fame  or  other 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  361 

place  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  prostitu- 
tion, shall  for  each  offense  be  punished  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  state  prison  for  not  more 
than  five  years  or  in  the  house  of  correction 
for  not  less  than  one  year,  nor  more  than  three 
years,  or  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred 
nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars. 
Section  9.    Id. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  matter  to  the  prosecuting  at- 
torney of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed. 

MICHIGAN. 

"Every  person  who  shall  take  or  entice  away 
any  female  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
from  her  father,  mother,  guardian,  or  other 
person  having  the  legal  charge  of  her  person, 
without  their  consent,  either  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution,  concubinage,  or  marriage,  shall 
be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  exceeding  three  years,  or  by  impris- 
onment in  a  county  jail  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars."    Sec.  11493,  Comp.  Laws,  1897. 

"Every  person  who  shall  keep  a  house  of 
ill-fame,  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  prosti- 
tution or  lewdness,  and  every  person  who  shall 
solicit,  or  in  any  manner  induce  a  female  to 
enter  such  house  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
a  prostitute,  or  shall  by  force,  fraud,  deceit,  or 
in  any  like  manner  procure  a  female  to  enter 


362  WAR  ON  THE 

such  house  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or 
of  becoming  a  prostitute,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  felony,  and  upon  conviction  there- 
of shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
state  prison  not  more  than  five  years,  or  in 
the  county  jail  not  more  than  one  year,  or  by 
fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by 
both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in  the  discre- 
tion of  the  court."  Sec.  11697,  Comp.  Laws, 
1897. 

"That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or 
persons,  for  any  purpose  whatever,  to  take 
or  convey  to,  or  to  employ,  receive,  detain  or 
suffer  to  remain  in  any  house  of  prostitution, 
house  of  ill-fame,  bawdy-house,  house  of  as- 
signation, or  in  any  house  or  place  for  the  re- 
sort of  prostitutes  or  other  disorderly  persons, 
any  female  of  the  age  of  seventeen  years  or 
under."    Sec.  11 725,  Comp.  Laws,  1897. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  prosecuting  attorney 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

MINNESOTA. 

The  statutes  of  Minnesota  provide  an  impris- 
onment of  not  more  than  two  years,  or  a  fine  of 
not  less  than  two  hundred  dollars  or  more  than 
two  thousand  dollars,  for  any  person  who  in- 
duces, entices  or  procures,  or  attempts  to  m- 
duce,  entice,  or  procure,  any  female  person  to 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  363 

come  into  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  prostitu- 
tion or  any  other  immoral  purpose,  or,  being  a 
resident  of  the  state,  to  induce,  entice  or  pro- 
cure a  female  person  to  enter  a  house  of  ill 
fame,  assignation  or  prostitution.  Chapter 
404-H.  F.  No.  996. 

Whoever  shall  hold,  detain  or  restrain,  in  any 
house  of  ill  fame  or  prostitution,  any 
female  person  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
pelling her  to  pay,  liquidate  or  cancel 
any  debt,  dues  or  obligations  incurred 
or  said  to  have  been  incurred  in  the  house  of  ill 
fame  or  prostitution  of  which  she  is  an  inmate, 
shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  state  prison  for  not 
more  than  two  years.  Chapter  461-H.  F.  No. 
998. 

Whoever  knowingly  accepts  or  receives  any 
of  his  or  her  support  or  maintenance  of  the 
proceeds  or  earnings  of  a  woman  engaged  in 
prostitution,  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  state 
penitentiary  not  less  than  one  year  nor  more 
than  three  years.    Chapter  475-H.  F.  No.  999. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  to  the  prosecuting  attorney 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

The  statutes  of  Mississippi  punish  any  per- 
son who  shall  take  any  female  under  the  age 
of  fourteen  years,  against  her  will,  and  by  force, 
menace,  fraud,   deceit,   stratagem   or   duress, 


364  WAR  ON  THE 

compel  or  induce  her  to  be  defiled,  by  impris- 
onment in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  five 
nor  more  than  fifteen  years.  Section  1025,  Stat- 
utes of  Mississippi. 

Every  person  who  takes,  carries  away,  decoys 
or  entices  any  child  under  fourteen  years  of 
age  from  its  parents  or  other  person  having 
charge  of  such  child,  for  the  purpose  of  prosti- 
tution or  other  immoral  purpose,  shall  upon 
conviction  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary 
not  exceeding  ten  years  or  in  the  county  jail 
not  more  than  one  year  or  fined  not  more  than 
one  thousand  dollars,  or  both.  Section  1079, 
Statutes  of  Mississippi. 

Any  person  who  shall  seduce  and  have  illicit 
connection  with  any  female  child  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  of  previous  chaste  character, 
shall  upon  conviction  be  imprisoned  in  the  pen- 
itentiary not  more  than  ten  years;  but  the  tes- 
timony of  the  female  seduced  alone  shall  not 
be  sufficient  for  conviction.  Section  1081,  Stat- 
utes of  Mississippi. 

Procedure. 

Prosecution  under  the  above  statutes  may 
be  commenced  by  making  affidavit  before  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  setting  forth  the  crime  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed.  The  justice 
may  then  hear  the  matter  and  impose  sentence 
if  within  his  authority,  or,  if  not,  bind  the  ac- 
cused to  await  the  action  of  the  grand  jury.  If 
the  grand  jury  is  in  session  the  evidence  should 
be  submitted  to  this  body  and  request  for  in- 
dictment made. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  365 

MISSOURI. 

If  any  person  shall,  by  any  fraudulent  rep- 
resentations, artifice  or  deception,  decoy,  en- 
tice or  take  away  any  female  of  previous  chaste 
character  from  where  she  may  be  to  a  house  of 
ill-fame  or  brothel  or  elsewhere,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  prostitution,  and  every  person  who 
shall  advise  or  assist  in  such  abduction  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  a  felony,  and  upon  convic- 
tion thereof  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
in  the  penitentiary  not  exceeding  five  years,  or 
by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  exceed- 
ing six  months  or  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
fifty  dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprison- 
ment. 

Missouri  Annotated  Statutes,  1906,  Sec, 
1843. 

MONTANA. 

Every  person  who  takes  away  any  female 
under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  her 
father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  person  hav- 
ing the  legal  charge  of  her  person,  without 
their  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  exceeding  five  years,  and  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars. 

Sec.  8343,   Revised  Cedes  of  Montana, 
1907. 

Any  proprietor,  keeper,  manager,  conductor 
or  person  having  the  control  of  any  house  of 
prostitution,  or  any  house  or  room  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  who  shall 


366  WAR  ON  THE 

admit  or  keep  any  minor  of  either  sex  therein, 
or  any  parent  or  guardian  of  any  such  minor 
who  shall  admit  or  keep  such  minor,  or  sanc- 
tion or  connive  at  the  admission  or  keeping 
thereof  into  or  in  any  such  house  or  room  shall 
be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 
Sec.  8378.    Id. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  prosecuting  attor- 
ney of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed. 

NEBRASKA. 

"That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or 
persons  to  allow,  keep,  maintain  or  harbor  any 
girl  under  eighteen  (18)  years  of  age,  or  any 
boy  under  twenty-one  (21)  years  of  age  in  any 
house  of  ill-fame  or  any  house  of  bad  repute, 
and  any  person  found  guilty  of  violating  any 
of  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and,  on  conviction 
thereof,  shall  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  ($100.00)  dollars,  nor  less 
than  twenty-five  ($25.00)  dollars,  or  be  im- 
prisoned in  the  county  jail  not  more  than 
thirty  (30)  days,  and  shall  stand  committed 
until  such  fine  and  costs  are  paid."  Sec.  3755, 
Comp.  Stat.,  Anno.,  igog. 

"If  any  person  or  persons  shall  induce,  de- 
coy, entice,  hire,  engage,  employ,  or  compel 
any  female  under  eighteen  years  of  age;  or  if 
any  person  or  persons  shall  cause,  by  compul- 


/  WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  367 

eion  or  otherwise,  any  female  over  eighteen 
years  of  age,  against  her  will,  to  have  illicit 
carnal  intercourse  with  any  person  other  than 
the  person  so  inducing,  decoying,  enticing,  hir- 
ing, engaging,  employing,  or  causing  such  fe- 
male to  have  such  illicit  carnal  intercouse;  or 
if  any  person  or  persons  shall  knowingly  per- 
mit or  allow  any  other  person  to  have  illicit 
intercourse  with  any  female  of  good  repute  for 
chastity,  at  the  house,  residence,  or  upon  the 
premises  owned  or  controlled  by  such  person 
or  persons,  the  person  or  persons  so  offending 
shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  for  not 
more  than  five  years."  Sec.  7876,  Comp.  Stat., 
Anno.,  1909. 

Procedure. 
Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  County  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

NEVADA. 

Every  person  who  shall  take  any  woman  un- 
lawfully, against  her  will,  and  by  force,  menace 
or  duress,  compel  her  to  marry  him,  or  to  marry 
any  other  person,  or  to  be  defiled,  and  shall 
be  thereof  convicted,  shall  be  punished  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  state  prison  for  a  term  not 
less  than  two,  nor  more  than  fourteen  years; 
and  the  record  of  such  conviction  shall  operate 
as  a  divorce  to  the  party  so  married. 

Sec.  4707,   Compiled   Laws  of  Nevada, 
1861-igoo,  inc. 


3«8  WAR  ON  THE 

Procedure. 
Report  violation  to  the  District  Attorney  for 
the  district  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

New  Hampshire  has  the  following  statute: 
If  any  person  shall  wilfully  or  deceitfully 
entice  or  carry  away  a  female  child  under  the 
age  of  eighteen  years  with  the  intent  or  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution  or  illicit  sexual  inter- 
course, he  shall  be  imprisoned  not  exceeding 
three  years  and  be  fined  not  exceeding  five 
thousand  dollars. 

Sec.   8,   Ch.   272,   Public   Statutes,   New 
Hampshire. 

Procedure. 
The  prosecuting  officers  in  New  Hampshire 
are  the  select  men  of  the  various  towns,  the 
solicitors  of  cities  and  counties,  and  the  at- 
torney general  of  the  state.  In  case  a  viola- 
tion becomes  known  to  you  it  should  be  re- 
ported to  one  or  the  other  of  these  officials  for 
proper  action. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Any  person  who  shall  convey  or  take  away 
any  woman  child,  unmarried,  whether  legiti- 
mate or  illegitimate,  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  out  or  from  the  possession,  custody  or 
governance,  and  against  the  will  of  the  father, 
mother,   or   guardian   of   such  woman  child, 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  369 

though  with  her  own  consent,  with  an  intent 
to  contract  matrimony  with  her,  or  with  an 
intent  to  carnally  abuse  her,  or  to  use  her  for 
immoral  purposes,  or  to  cause  or  procure  her 
to  be  carnally  abused  by  another  or  to  be  used 
for  immoral  purposes  by  another,  his  aiders 
and  abettors,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor; 
and  if  he  contract  matrimony  with  her,  with- 
out the  consent  of  her  father,  mother  or  guard- 
ian, he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanor; 
and  every  such  marriage  shall  be  void;  and 
any  person  who  shall  permit,  suffer  or  procure 
any  woman  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  whether  single  or  married,  with  or  with- 
out her  consent,  to  be  carnally  abused  by  an- 
other or  to  be  used  for  immoral  purposes  by 
another,  in  any  house,  room  or  place,  public 
or  private,  kept  by  or  under  the  control  or 
management  of  such  person,  shall  be  guilty 
of  a  high  misdemeanor. 

Sec.  117,  Ch.  65,  Session  Laws  of  New 
Jersey,  1906. 

Procedure. 

Report  violation  to  the  prosecutor  of  pleas 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed, 

NEW  MEXICO. 

"Any  person  or  persons  who  shall  entice 
away  and  seduce  or  carry  off  any  woman,  who 
may  be  a  minor  under  the  care  of  her  parents, 
relations  or  guardian;  such  persons  who  shall 


3^0  WAR  ON  THE 

so  do,  or  shall  have  them  in  their  possession 
for  evil  purposes,  upon  complaint  of  any  per- 
son, shall  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  dollars,  nor  less  than  eighty,  or 
with  imprisonment  for  any  term  not  exceed- 
ing one  year,  nor  less  than  eight  months." 
Sec.  1349,  Comp.  Laws  of  N.  M.,  1897. 

"Any  father,  or  mother,  or  guardian,  who 
shall  surrender  up  in  bad  faith,  any  woman 
under  their  charge,  on  complaint  being  made 
thereof,  shall  be  punished  as  prescribed  in  Sec- 
tion 1349."  Sec.  1350,  Comp.  Laws  of  N.  M., 
1897. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  District  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

NEW  YORK. 

Sec.  2460.  Compulsory  prostitution  of  wo- 
men. 

I.  Any  person  who  shall  place  any  female 
in  the  charge  or  custody  of  any  other  person 
for  immoral  purposes  or  in  a  house  of  prosti- 
tution with  intent  that  she  shall  live  a  life  of 
prostitution;  or  any  person  who  shall  compel 
any  female  to  reside  with  him  or  with  any 
other  person  for  immoral  purposes,  or  for  the 
purposes  of  prostitution  or  shall  compel  any 
such  female  to  reside  in  a  house  of  prostitu- 
tion or  compel  her  to  live  a  life  of  prostitution 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  371 

is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one 
thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  five  thousand 
dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  less  than 
one  year  nor  more  than  three  years  or  by  both 
such  fine  and  such  imprisonment. 

"2.  Any  person  who  shall  receive  any 
money  or  other  valuable  thing  for  or  on  ac- 
count of  placing  in  a  house  of  prostitution  or 
elsewhere  any  female  for  the  purpose  of  caus- 
ing her  to  cohabit  with  any  male  person  or 
persons  to  whom  she  is  not  married  shall  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

"3.  Any  person  who  shall  pay  any  money 
or  other  valuable  thing  to  procure  any  female 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  her  for  immoral 
purposes  in  any  house  of  prostitution  or  else- 
where against  her  will,  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  be  imprisoned  for  a 
period  not  less  than  one  year,  nor  more  than 
three  years. 

"4.  Every  person  who  shall  knowingly 
receive  any  money  or  other  valuable  thing 
for  or  on  account  of  procuring  and  placing 
in  the  custody  of  another  person  for  immoral 
purposes  any  woman,  with  or  without  her  con- 
sent, is  punishable  by  imprisonment  not  ex- 
ceeding five  years  and  a  fine  not  exceeding  one 
thousand  dollars." 

"A  person  who: 

"Takes,  receives,  employes,  harbors  or  uses, 
or  causes  or  procures  to  be  taken,  received, 

24 


^372  IVAR  ON  THE 

employed  or  harbored  or  used,  a  female  under 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  for  the  purpose  of 
prostitution;  or,  not  being  her  husband,  for 
the  purpose  of  sexual  intercourse;  or,  without 
the  consent  of  her  father,  mother,  guardian  or 
other  person  having  legal  charge  of  her  per- 
son, for  the  purpose  of  marriage ;  or, 

"Inveigles  or  entices  an  unmarried  female, 
of  previous  chaste  character  into  a  house  of 
ill-fame,  or  of  assignation,  or  elsewhere,  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  sexual  intern- 
course;  or, 

"Takes  or  detains  a  female  unlawfully 
against  her  will,  with  the  intent  to  compel  her, 
by  force,  menace  or  duress,  to  marry  him,  or  to 
marry  any  other  person,  or  to  be  defiled;  or, 

"Being  parent,  guardian  or  other  person  hav- 
ing legal  charge  of  the  person  of  a  female  un- 
der the  age  of  eighteen  years,  consents  to  her 
taking  or  detaining  by  any  person  for  the  pur» 
pose  of  prostitution  or  sexual  intercouse ; 

"Is  guilty  of  abduction  and  punishable  by 
imprisonment  for  not  more  than  ten  years,  or 
by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, or  by  both."  Sec.  70,  Cons.  Laws  of  N. 
Y.,  1909,  Vol.  41. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  District  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  373 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

"If  any  person  shall  unlawfully  carnally 
know  or  abuse  any  female  child  over  ten  and 
under  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  has  never 
before  had  sexual  intercourse  with  any  person, 
he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  felony  and  fined  or  im- 
prisoned in  the  state  prison,  in  the  discretion 
of  the  court.'*  Sec.  3348,  Vol.  2,  Pell's  Re- 
visal  of  1908. 

"If  anyone  shall  conspire  to  abduct,  or  by 
any  means  shall  induce  any  child  under  the  age 
of  fourteen  years,  who  shall  reside  with  any 
of  the  persons  designated  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tion, or  at  school,  to  leave  the  persons  afore- 
said or  the  school,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  like 
offense,  and  on  conviction  shall  be  punished  as 
prescribed  in  the  preceding  section ;  Provided^ 
that  ho  one  who  may  be  a  nearer  blood  relation 
to  the  child  than  the  persons  named  in  said 
section,  shall  be  indicted  for  either  of  said  of- 
fenses." Sec.  3359,  Vol.  2,  Pell's  Revisal  of 
1908. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  Prosecuting  Officer  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

NORTH  DAKOTA. 

"Every  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any 
unmarried  female  of  previous  chaste  chareicter, 
into  any  house  of  ill-fame  or  of  assignation  or 


374  WAR  ON  THE 

elsewhere,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  and 
every  person  who  aids  or  assists  in  such  ab- 
duction for  such  purpose,  is  punishable  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  not  less 
than  one  and  not  exceeding  five  years,  or  by 
imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding 
one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  impris- 
onment." Sec.  8899,  Laws  of  North  Dakota, 
1909. 

"Any  person  who  shall  detain  any  woman 
against  her  will  by  force,  threats,  putting  in 
bodily  fear,  or  by  any  other  means,  at  a  house 
of  ill-fame,  or  any  other  place  of  any  other 
name  or  description,  for  the  purpose  of  prosti- 
tution, or  for  unlawful  sexual  intercourse,  or 
who  shall  aid,  abet,  advise,  encourage  or  as- 
sist in  such  detention,  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
felony,  and  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  peni- 
tentiary for  a  period  not  to  exceed  three  years, 
or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  not  to 
exceed  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not  to  exceed  one 
thousand  dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and 
imprisonment."    Act  of  March  16,  1909. 

"Every  person  who  takes  any  woman  un- 
lawfully against  her  will,  with  the  intent  to 
compel  her  by  force,  menace  or  duress  to 
marry  him,  or  to  marry  any  other  person,  or 
to  be  defiled,  is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in 
the  penitentiary  not  less  than  one  and  not  ex- 
ceeding ten  years."  Sec.  8898,  Revised  Codes 
o£  N.  D.,  1905. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  375 

"Every  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any 
unmarried  female  of  previously  chaste  char- 
acter under  the  age  of  twenty  years,  into  any 
house  of  ill-fame  or  of  assignation  or  else- 
where, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  and 
every  person  who  aids  or  assists  any  such  ab- 
duction for  such  purpose,  is  punishable  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than 
one  and  not  exceeding  five  years,  or  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding 
one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprison- 
ment."   Sec.  8899,  Rev.  Codes  of  N.  D.,  1905 

"Every  person  who  takes  away  any  female 
under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  from  her 
father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  person  hav- 
ing the  legal  charge  of  her  person,  without  the 
consent  of  such  father,  mother,  guardian  or 
other  person  having  the  legal  charge  of  her 
person,  or  any  friendless  female  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  either  for  the  purpose  of 
concubinage  or  prostitution,  is  punishable  by 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than 
one  and  not  exceeding  five  years,  or  in  the 
county  jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  fine 
not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by 
both."    8900,  Rev.  Codes  of  N.  D.,  1905. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  state's  attorney  of  the 
county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to  have 
been  committed. 


376  WAR  ON  THE 

\ 

OHIO. 

"Whoever  induces,  decoys  or  procures  any 
female  person  under  eighteen  years  of  age  to 
have  sexual  intercourse  with  any  person  oth- 
er than  himself,  or  to  enter  any  house  of  assig- 
nation or  any  house  of  ill-fame  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seduction  or  prostitution,  or  knowing- 
ly permits  any  person  to  have  illicit  intercourse 
with  any  female  person,  of  good  repute  for 
chastity,  upon  premises  owned  or  controlled 
by  him,  or  any  keeper  of  a  house  of  assignation 
or  house  of  ill-fame,  who  detains  or  harbors 
therein  any  female  person  under  eighteen  years 
of  age,  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary 
not  more  than  five  years  nor  less  than  one 
year."  Sec.  7023,  Bates  Anno.,  Ohio  Stat., 
Vol.  3,  p.  3387. 

"Whoever,  in  a  wine  room,  saloon,  or  res- 
taurant, or  elsewhere,  gives,  offers  or  furnishes 
to  any  female  of  good  repute  for  chastity,  over 
eighteen  years  of  age,  or  to  any  female  under 
eighteen  years  of  age,  any  wine  or  other  in- 
toxicating liquors,  with  intent  thereby  to  en- 
able himself  to  have  sexual  intercourse,  or  to 
aid  or  assist  any  person  in  accomplishing  or 
having  sexual  intercourse  with  such  female, 
shall  be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  not 
more  than  three  years  nor  less  than  one  year." 
Sec.  7023a,  Bates  Anno.,  Ohip  Stat.,  Vol.  3, 

P-  3387. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  377 

the  alleged  crime  to  the  Ptosecuting  Attorney 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

OKLAHOMA. 

''Whoever  takes  any  woman  unlawfully 
against  her  will,  with  the  intent  to  compel  her 
by  force,  menace  or  duress,  to  marry  him,  or 
to  marry  any  other  person,  or  to  be  defiled, 
is  punishable  by  imprisonment  not  exceeding 
ten  years."  Sec.  1824,  Gen.  Stat.  Okla.,  1908, 
Anno. 

"Whoever  inveigles  or  entices  ail  unmar- 
ried female  of  previous  chaste  character  under 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  into  any  house 
of  ill-fame  or  of  assignation,  or  elsewhere,  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution,  and  every  person 
who  aids  or  assists  in  such  abduction  for  such 
purpose,  is  punishable  by  imprisonment  not 
exceeding  five  years,  or  by  imprisonment  not 
exceeding  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not  exceeding 
one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  both  such  fine  and 
imprisonment."  Sec.  1825,  Gen.  Stat.  Okla., 
1908,  Anno. 

"Whoever  takes  away  atiy  female  under 
the  age  of  fifteen  years,  from  her  father,  moth- 
er, guardian  or  other  person  having  the  legal 
charge  of  her  person,  without  their  consent, 
cither  for  the  purpose  of  marriage,  concubi- 
nage or  prostitution,  is  punishable  by  impris- 
onment not  exceeding  five  years  or  by  impris- 
onment not  less  than  one  year,  or  by  a  fine 
not  exceeding  one  thousand  doUats,  or  by 


378  WAR  ON  THE 

both  such  fine  and  imprisonment."    Sec.  1826, 
Gen.  Stat.  Okla.,  1908,  Anno. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  County  Attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

OREGON. 

"If  any  person  shall  take  away  any  female 
under  the  age  of  sixteen  years  from  her  father, 
mother,  guardian,  or  other  person  having  the 
legal  charge  of  her  person,  without  the  con- 
sent of  such  father,  mother,  guardian  or  other 
person,  either  for  the  purpose  of  marriage, 
concubinage,  or  prostitution,  such  person,  up- 
on conviction  thereof,  shall  be  punished  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than 
one  nor  more  than  two  years,  or  by  imprison- 
ment in  the  county  jail  not  less  than  three 
months  nor  more  than  one  year,  or  by  fine  not 
less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  five  hun- 
dred dollars."  Sec.  1928,  Ballinger  &  Cot- 
ton's Anno.  Codes  &  Stat,  of  Oregon,  Vol.  i. 

"Any  male  person  who  lives  with  a  prosti- 
tute, or  who  lives  in  whole  or  in  part  off  of, 
or  accepts  any  of  the  earnings  of  a  prostitute, 
Dr  solicits  or  attempts  to  solicit  any  male  per- 
son or  persons  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with 
a  prostitute,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  fel- 
ony, and  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be 
punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  379 

not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  five 
years,  or  by  fine  in  any  sum  not  less  than  one 
thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  five  thousand 
dollars."    Act  Feb.  11,  1905. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowlege  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  Prosecuting  or  Dis- 
trict Attorney  of  the  county  in  which  the 
crime  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Pennsylvania  enacted  on  May  first  last,  one 
of  the  statutes  recommended  by  the  committee 
for  the  several  states.  It  is  the  act  aimed  at 
the  procurer,  and  is  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  any  person  whoso- 
ever, who  shall  induce,  entice,  or  procure,  or 
attempt  to  induce,  entice,  or  procure,  into  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  any  woman 
or  girl,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  for 
any  other  immoral  purpose,  shall  be  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor,  and,  upon  conviction,  be  im- 
prisoned for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  or 
more  than  five  years,  and  be  fined  not  exceed- 
ing five  thousand  dollars. 

Procedure. 

Application  should  be  made  to  the  proper 
prosecuting  officer  of  the  county  in  which  the 
crime  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 


380  WAR  ON  THE 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Rhode  Island  presents  some  excellent 
statutes.  They  are  particularly  broad  and 
comprehensive.    They  are  as  follows : 

Whoever  shall  unlawfully  and  carnally  know 
and  abuse  any  girl  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  shall  be  imprisoned  not  exceeding  fifteen 
years. 

Ch.  281,  Sec.  3,  Revised  Statutes  of  Rhode 
Island,  1896. 

Whoever  shall  attempt  to  have  unlawful 
carna2  knowledge  of  any  girl  under  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  shall  be  imprisoned  not  exceed- 
ing ten  years. 

Ch.  281,  Sec.  4,  Id. 

Whoever  by  threats  or  intimidation  procures 
or  induces,  or  attempts  to  procure  or  induce, 
any  woman  or  girl  to  have  any  unlawful  carnal 
connection  either  with  himself  or  with  any 
other  person,  or  by  false  pretenses,  false  repre- 
sentations or  other  fraudulent  means,  procures 
or  induces  any  woman  or  girl,  not  being  a  com- 
mon prostitute  or  of  known  immoral  character, 
to  have  unlawful  carnal  connection,  either  with 
himself  or  with  any  other  person,  or  applies, 
administers  to,  or  causes  to  be  taken  by  any 
woman  or  girl  any  drug,  matter  or  thing  with 
intent  to  stupefy  or  overpower  so  as  thereby 
to  enable  himself  or  any  other  person  to  have 
unlawful  carnal  connection  with  such  woman 
or  girl,  or,  being  above  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  shall  by  any  means  whatsoever  procure 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  381 

or  induce  any  girl  under  the  age  of  eighteen 
ye^rs,  and  not  of  known  immoral  character,  to 
have  any  unlawful  carnal  connection  either 
with  himself  or  with  any  other  person,  shall 
be  imprisoned  not  exceeding  five  years:  Pro^ 
vided,  however,  that  no  person  shall  be  con-, 
victed  of  an  offense  under  this  section  upon  the 
evidence  of  one  witness  only,  unless  such  wit- 
ness be  corroborated  by  other  evidence. 
Ch.  281,  Sec.  5.    Id. 

Every  person  who  shall  inveigle  or  entice 
any  woman  or  female  child,  before  reputed 
virtuous,  or  any  female  child  under  fourteen 
years  of  age  not  proven  by  the  defendant  to 
have  been  of  previous  bad  character,  to  a  house 
of  ill-fame,  or  who  shall  knowingly  conceal,  or 
aid  or  abet  in  concealing  any  such  woman  or 
female  child  so  inveigled  or  enticed,  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution  or  lewdness,  shall  be 
imprisoned  not  exceeding  five  years  or  be  fined 
not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars. 
Ch.  281,  Sec.  6.    Id. 

Whenever  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  any 
woman,  or  female  child,  has  been  inveigled  or 
enticed  to  a  house  of  ill-fame  as  aforesaid,  up- 
on complaint  thereof  being  made,  under  oath, 
by  any  overseer  of  the  poor,  sheriff,  deputy 
sheriff,  town  sergeant  or  constable,  or  by  the 
parent,  master  or  guardian  of  such  woman  or 
female  child,  to  any  justice  or  clerk  of  a  district 
court  authorized  to  issue  such  warrants,  such 
justice  or  clerk  may  issue  his  warrant,  to  en- 
ter by  day  or  night,  such  house  or  houses  of 


382  WAR  ON  THE 

lU-fame,  and  to  search  for  such  woman,  or  fe- 
male child,  and  to  bring  her  and  the  person  in 
whose  possession  or  keeping  she  may  be  found, 
before  such  district  court,  who  may,  on  ex- 
amination, order  her  to  be  delivered  to  such 
overseer,  parent,  master  or  guardian,  or  to  be 
discharged,  as  law  and  justice  may  require. 
Ch.  281,  Sec.  7.    Id. 

Procedure. 

If  a  violation  is  alleged  to  have  occurred 
within  the  county  in  which  you  reside,  present 
the  matter  to  a  justice  or  to  any  clerk  of  a 
district  court  of  the  state,  and  he  will  issue  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  defendant  and 
proceed  to  prosecute  the  case. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

"Whoever,  above  the  age  of  fourteen  years, 
shall  unlawfully  take  or  convey,  or  cause  to 
be  taken  or  conveyed,  any  maid  or  woman- 
child  unmarried,  being  within  the  age  of  six- 
teen years,  out  of  or  from  the  possession  and 
against  the  will  of  the  father  or  mother  of 
such  child,  or  out  of  or  from  the  possession 
and  against  the  will  of  such  person  or  persons 
as  then  shall  happen  to  have,  by  any  lawful 
ways  or  means,  the  order,  keeping,  education, 
or  governance  of  any  such  maiden  or  woman- 
child,  shall,  on  conviction,  suffer  imprison- 
ment for  the  space  of  two  years  or  else  shall 
pay  such  fine  as  shall  be  adjudged  by  the 
court." — Sec.  287,  Crim.  Code. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  383 

"Whoever  shall  so  take  away,  or  cause  to 
be  taken  away,  as  aforesaid,  and  defiles  any 
such  maid  or  woman-child,  as  aforesaid,  or 
shall,  against  the  will  or  unknowing  of  or  to 
the  father  of  any  such  maid  or  woman-child, 
if  the  father  be  in  life,  or  against  the  will  or 
unknowing  of  the  mother  of  any  such  maid  or 
woman-child  (having  the  custody  or  govern- 
ance, of  such  child,  if  the  father  be  dead),  by 
secret  letters,  messages,  or  otherwise,  contract 
matrimony  with  any  such  maid  or  woman- 
child,  shall,  on  conviction,  suffer  imprisonment 
for  five  years,  or  shall  pay  such  fine  as  shall  be 
adjudged  by  the  court;  one  moiety  of  which 
fine  shall  be  for  the  State,  and  the  other  moiety 
to  the  parties  grieved."  Sec.  288,  Criminal 
Code. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  within  your  knowledge  of 
the  alleged  crime  to  the  Prosecuting  Attor- 
ney of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA. 

It  is  unlawful  to  inveigle  or  entice  an  un- 
married female  of  previous  chaste  character 
under  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  into  any 
house  or  other  place  for  the  purpose  of  pros- 
titution. The  law  punishes  a  person  thus 
guilty,  and  every  person  who  aids  or  assists  in 
such  violation,  by  confinement  of  not  less  than 
five  nor  more  than  twenty  years  in  the  state 
prison,  or  a  fine  of  $1,000,  or  both  such  fine  and 


'384  WAR  ON  THE 

Imprisonment.  Section  334,  Revised  Penal 
Cbde,  1903,  as  amended. 

Every  person  who  takes  away  ahy  female  tlti^ 
der  the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  her  father, 
mother,  guardian  or  other  person  having  the  le- 
gal charge  of  such  female,  without  their  con- 
sent, eithet  for  marriage  or  prostitution  or  con- 
cubinage, is  also  punishable  by  the  same  im- 
prisonment and  fine.  Section  335,  Revised 
Penal  Code,  1903,  as  amended. 

Every  person  who,  under  promise  of  mar- 
Hage,  seduces  or  has  illicit  connection  with 
^ny  unmarried  female  of  previous  chaste  char- 
acter, is  punishable  by  Imprisonment  in  the 
state  prison,  by  the  same  fine  and  imprison- 
ment as  provided  undet*  Section  334.  Section 
336,  Revised  Penal  Code,  as  amended. 

Procedure. 

Present  the  facts  to  the  prosecuting  attorney 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

TENNESSEE. 

Any  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any  fe- 
male, before  reputed  virtuous,  to  a  house  of  ill- 
fame,  or  knowingly  conceals,  or  aids  and  abets 
in  concealing,  such  female  so  deluded  or  en- 
ticed, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  lewd- 
ness, shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in 
the  penitentiary  not  less  than  two  nor  more 
than  ten  years. 

Sec.  6768,  Shannon's  Code,  1896, 


White  slave  trade      ^385 

i 
^ny  person  who  takes  any  f^niale  from  her 
father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  person  hav- 
ing the  legal  charge  of  her  without  h^r  con- 
sent, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  con- 
cubinage, shall,  upon  conviction,  b^  imprisoned 
in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  ten  nor  more 
than  twenty-one  years. 

Sec.  6463.    Id.  I 

Procedure. 
Present  the  matter  to  the  county  attorney 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed. 

TEXAS. 

"Abduction"  is  the  false  imprisonment  of  a 
wc«nan  with  intent  to  iovi^e  her  into  a  marr 
iri'jge  or  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution. 

Article  629,  Ch.  6.  Revised  Statutes  of 
Tejms,  1896. 

If  a  female  under  the  age  of  fourteen  be 
taken  for  the  purpose  of  marriage  or  prostitu- 
tion from  her  parent,  guardian  or  other  person 
having  the  legal  charge  of  h^r,  it  is  abduction, 
whether  she  consent  or  npt,  and  although  st 
marriage  afterward  takes  plac^  between  the 
parties. 

',...      Section  630.    Id. 

f  The  offense  of  abduetioji  is  complete  if  the 
female  be  detained  a3  long  as  twelve  hours, 
although  she  may  afterwards  be  relieved  from 
such  detention  without  marriage  or  prostitu- 
tipn. 

Section  631,  J4. 


386  WAR  ON  THE 

Any  person  who  shall  be  guilty  of  abduc- 
tion shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding 
two  thousand  dollars.  If  by  reason  of  such 
abduction  a  woman  be  forced  into  marriage, 
the  punishment  shall  be  confinement  in  the 
penitentiary  not  less  than  two  nor  more  than 
five  years;  and  if  by  reason  of  such  abduction 
a  woman  be  prostituted,  the  punishment  shall 
be  confinement  in  the  penitentiary  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  twenty  years. 
Section  632.    Id. 

Procedure. 

Report  the  alleged  violation  to  the  District 
Attorney  or  the  county  attorney  within  the 
district  or  county  where  the  crime  is  alleged  to 
have  been  committed.  The  matter  may  also 
be  presented  to  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which 
event  the  county  attorney  should  be  notified. 

UTAH. 

The  statutes  of  Utah  have  been  strengthened 
by  a  recent  enactment  which  prohibits  the 
sending  of  female  help  to  places  of  ill-repute. 
This  section  is  as  follows : 

Any  employment  agent  who  shall  knowing- 
ly send  out  any  female  help  to  any  place  of 
bad  repute,  house  of  ill-fame  or  assignation 
house,  or  to  any  house  or  place  of  amusement 
kept  for  immoral  purposes,  shall  be  liable  to 
pay  a  fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars ($100),  and  shall  be  imprisoned  not  less 
than  ninety  days  and  on  conviction  thereof,  in 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  387 

any  court,  shall  have  his,  its  or  their  license 
rescinded. 

Chapter  21,  Sec.  6,  laws  of  Utah,  1909. 

Other  portions  of  the  statutes  of  Utah  which 
directly  affect  the  subject  of  white  slavery  are 
as  follows: 

Every  person  who  inveigles  or  entices  any 
female  of  previous  chaste  character  into  any 
house  of  ill-fame,  or  of  assignation,  or  else- 
where, for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,  or  to 
have  carnal  connection  with  any  male,  and 
every  person  who  aids  or  assists  such  abduc- 
tion for  such  purposes,  is  punishable  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  state  prison  not  exceeding 
five  years,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county 
jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  $1,000  or  by  both. 

Sec.  4222,  Compiled  Laws  of  Utah,  1907. 

Every  person  who  takes  away  any  female  un- 
der the  age  of  eighteen  years  from  her  father, 
mother,  guardian,  or  other  person  having  the 
legal  charge  of  her  person,  with  or  without 
their  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  exceeding  five  years,  or  by  a  fine 
not  exceeding  $1,000,  or  both. 
Sec.  4223.    Id. 

Procedure. 

The  proper  procedure  to  be  taken  is  to  pre- 
sent the  matter  to  the  prosecuting  attorney  of 
the  county  in  which  the  crime  was  committed. 
Full  detailed  information  respecting  the  proper 

25 


388  WAR  ON  THE 

procedure  under  these  statutes  may  be  found 
by  referring  to  Title  91,  Ch.  i,  Laws  of  Utah, 
1907. 

VERMONT. 

A  person  who  keeps  a  house  of  ill-fame,  re- 
sorted to  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or 
lewdness,  whether  the  same  be  occupied  or 
frequented  by  one  or  more  females,  shall  be 
imprisoned  not  more  than  four  years,  or  fined 
not  more  than  three  hundred  dollars. 

Sec*  5893,  Public  Statutes  of  Vermont, 
1906* 

Procedure. 
Present  the  facts  in  the  case  to  the  state's 
attorney  of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  is  al- 
leged to  have  been  committed. 

VIRGINIA. 

If  any  person  take  away  or  detain,  against 
her  will,  any  female  with  intent  to  marry  or 
defile  her,  or  cause  her  to  be  married  or  defiled 
by  another  person,  or  take  from  any  person, 
having  lawful  charge  of  her,  a  female  under 
sixteen  years  of  age,  for  the  purpose  of  concu^ 
binage  or  prostitution,  he  shall  be  confined  in 
the  penitentiary  not  less  than  three  nor  more 
than  ten  years;  and  every  person  who  shall 
assist  or  aid  in  such  abduction  or  detention  for 
such  purpose,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  felony,  and 
shall,  upon  conviction  thereof,  be  punished  by 
confinement  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than 
two  nor  more  than  five  years. 

Sec.  3678,  Virginia  Code,  1904. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  389 

Procedure. 

Report  alleged  violation  to  a  justice  of  the 
peace  or  the  prosecuting  attorney  in  the  county 
in  which  the  crime  is  alleged  to  have  been  com- 
mitted. 

WASHINGTON. 

If  any  person  take  or  entice  away  any  un- 
married female  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
from  her  father,  mother,  guardian,  or  other 
person  having  the  legal  charge  of  her  person, 
without  their  consent,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
stitution, he  shall  upon  conviction,  be  punished 
with  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  not 
more  than  three  years,  or  by  a  fine  of  not  more 
than  two  thousand  dollars,  and  imprisonment 
in  the  county  jail  not  more  than  one  year. 
Sec.  7065,  Ballinger's  Code,  1897. 

It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  child  or  children, 
boy  or  girl,  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  to 
enter  into  or  become  an  inmate  of  any  house 
or  houses  of  prostitution,  or  room  or  rooms 
where  the  same  is  conducted,  either  as  mes- 
sengers, servants,  or  for  any  other  purpose 
whatever,  whether  the  same  be  under  license 
or  otherwise. 

Sec.  7254,  Ballinger's  Code,  1897. 

Any  person  or  persons  owning,  operating,  or 
maintaining  any  of  the  places  enumerated  in 
the  three  preceding  sections  of  this  chapter, 
permitting  or  allowing  in  any  way  whatever 
any  child  or  children,  boy  or  girl,  under  eighth 
een  years  of  age,  to  enter  the  same,  shall  be 


390  WAR  ON  THE 

deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon 
conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  in  a  sum  not 
less  than  fifty  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  in 
the  county  jail  not  exceeding  ninety  days,  or 
by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 
Sec.  7256.  Id. 
Every  person  who — 

1.  Shall  take  a  female  under  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution 
or  sexual  intercourse,  or  without  the  consent 
of  her  father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  per- 
son having  legal  charge  of  her  person,  for  the 
purpose  of  marriage;  or, 

2.  Shall  inveigle  or  entice  an  unmarried  fe- 
male of  previously  chaste  character  into  a 
house  of  ill-fame  or  assignation,  or  elsewhere, 
for  the  purpose  of  prostitution;  or, 

3.  Shall  take  or  detain  a  woman  unlaw- 
fully against  her  will,  with  intent  to  compel 
her  by  force,  menace  or  duress,  to  marry  him 
or  another  person,  or  to  be  defiled ;  or, 

4.  Being  the  parent,  guardian  or  other  per- 
son having  legal  charge  of  the  person  of  a 
female  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  shall 
consent  to  her  taking  or  detention  by  any  per- 
son for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  sexual 
intercourse  or  for  any  obscene,  indecent  or 
immoral  purpose; 

Shall  be  guilty  of  abduction  and  punished 

by  imprisonment  in  the  state  penitentiary  for 

not  more  than  ten  years  or  by  a  fine  of  not 

more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  both. 

Sec.    187,    Chap.    249,   Session   Laws   o>* 

Washington,  1909. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  391 

Every  person  who — 

1.  Shall  place  a  female  in  the  charge  or 
custody  of  another  person  for  immoral  pur- 
poses, or  in  a  house  of  prostitution,  with  intent 
that  she  shall  live  a  life  of  prostitution,  or  who 
shall  compel  any  female  to  reside  with  him  or 
with  any  other  person  for  immoral  purposes, 
or  for  the  purposes  of  prostitution;  or, 

2.  Shall  ask  or  receive  any  compensation, 
gratuity  or  reward,  or  promise  thereof,  for 
or  on  account  of  placing  in  a  house  of  prosti- 
tution or  elsewhere,  any  female  for  the  purpose 
of  causing  her  to  cohabit  with  any  male  per- 
son or  persons  not  her  husband;  or, 

3.  Shall  give,  offer,  or  promise  any  com- 
pensation, gratuity  or  reward,  to  procure  any 
female  for  the  purpose  of  placing  her  for  im- 
moral purposes  in  any  house  of  prostitution, 
or  elsewhere,  against  her  will;  or, 

4.  Being  the  husband  of  any  woman,  or  the 
parent,  guardian  or  other  person  having  legal 
charge  of  the  person  of  a  female  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years,  shall  connive  at,  consent  to, 
or  permit  her  being  or  remaining  in  any  house 
of  prostitution  or  leading  a  life  of  prostitution; 
or, 

5.  Shall  live  with  or  accept  any  earnings  of 
a  woman  prostitute,  or  entice  or  solicit  any 
person  to  go  to  a  house  of  prostitution  for  any 
immoral  purpose,  or  to  have  sexual  intercourse 
with  a  woman  prostitute; 

Shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the 
state  penitentiary  for  not  more  than  five  years, 


392  WAR  ON  THE 

or  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  two  thousand 
dollars* 

Sec.  i88.    Id. 

Procedure* 

Report  the  facts  of  the  case  to  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  the  county  in  which  the  crime 
is  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 

WEST  VIRGINIA. 

If  any  person  take  away  or  detain  against 
her  will  a  female,  with  intent  to  marry  or  de- 
file her,  or  cause  her  to  be  married  or  defiled 
by  another  person,  or  take  from  any  person 
having  lawful  charge  of  her,  a  female  child 
under  fourteen  years  of  age,  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution  or  concubinage,  he  shall  be  con- 
fined in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than  three 
nor  more  than  ten  years. 

Sec.  4215,  West  Virginia  Code,  1906. 

Procedure. 

Report  the  facts  of  the  alleged  crime  within 
your  knowledge  to  the  nearest  justice  of  the 
peace  of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  was 
committed,  or  refer  the  matter  to  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  the  same  county. 

WISCONSIN. 

The  Wisconsin  laws  are  particularly  far 
reaching*  The  extent  and  broad  scope  of  the 
statutes  of  this  state  may  be  seen  upon  reading 
the  statutes  verbatim,  which  are  herewith  giv- 
en.  They  are  as  follows: 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  393 

Section  4581a.  Any  person  who,  by  force, 
threats,  promises  or  any  other  means  or  induce-* 
ments,  shall  entice,  inveigle,  solicit,  induce  or 
take  any  unmarried  female  of  previous  chaste 
character  of  the  age  of  sixteen  years  or  under 
from  her  father,  mother,  guardian  or  other  per- 
son having  the  legal  care  or  custody  of  any 
such  female,  or  from  her  home  or  other  place 
of  abode,  wherever  she  may  be,  for  the  purpose 
of  seduction,  prostitution,  or  with  intent 
to  seduce,  defile,  deflower,  or  for  the 
purpose  of  entering,  causing,  inducing  or 
procuring  her  to  enter  any  house  of  ill 
fame,  assignation  or  other  place  of  pros- 
titution, for  the  puipose  of  prostitution, 
either  temporarily  or  as  an  inmate  of  any  such 
house  or  place,  and  any  person  who  shall  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  cause,  procure,  aid,  assist, 
knowingly  permit  or  abet  in  any  manner  the  se- 
duction, defilement,  deflowering  or  the  having 
of  illicit  intercourse  with  any  such  female  by 
any  person,  either  at  her  home  or  other  place 
of  abode  or  elsewhere,  shall  be  punished  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  state  prison  not  more  than 
ten  years  nor  less  than  one  year  or  by  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars. 

Section  4581b.  Any  person  who  shall  frau- 
dulently, deceitfully  or  by  any  false  representa- 
tions entice,  abduct,  induce,  decoy,  hire,  en- 
gage, employ  or  take  any  woman  over  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  of  previous  chaste  character 
from  her  father's  house  or  from  any  other  place 
where  she  may  be  for  the  purpose  aforesaid 


394  WAR  ON  THE 

shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  less  than  five  years  nor  more  than  fif- 
teen years. 

Section  4581c.  Any  person  who  shall,  by 
any  such  means  as  are  mentioned  in  the  next 
preceding  section,  entice,  abduct,  induce,  de- 
coy, hire,  engage,  employ  or  take  in  any  man- 
ner any  female  from  her  home  or  from  any 
other  place  where  she  may  be,  for  the  purpose 
of  prostitution  or  for  unlawful  sexual  inter- 
course, and  any  person  who  shall  knowingly 
or  intentionally  aid,  abet,  assist,  advise  or  en- 
courage the  doing  of  any  such  act  for  the  pur- 
pose aforesaid  shall  be  punished  by  imprison- 
ment in  the  state  prison  not  more  than  five 
years  nor  less  than  one  year. 

Section  4581  d.  Any  person  who  shall  de- 
tain any  woman  against  her  will  by  force, 
threats,  putting  in  bodily  fear  or  by  any  other 
means  at  a  house  of  ill  fame  or  any  other  place 
of  any  name  or  description  whatever,  for  the 
purpose  of  prostitution  or  for  unlawful  sexual 
intercourse,  and  any  person  who  shall  aid,  abet, 
advise,  assist  or  encourage  in  such  detention 
shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  in  the  state 
prison  not  more  than  fifteen  years  nor  less  than 
five  years. 

Section  45816.  Any  person,  being  the  own- 
er, lessee  or  occupant  of  any  premises,  or  hav- 
ing, in  whole  or  in  part,  the  management  or 
control  thereof,  who  induces  or  knowingly  per- 
mits any  female  under  twenty-one  years  of  age 
to  resort  to  or  be  in  or  upon  such  premises  for 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  395 

the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  unlawful  sexual 
intercourse  shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
in  the  state  prison  not  more  than  five  years  nor 
less  than  one  year. 

Section  458 if.  Any  person  who  shall  solicit, 
induce,  encourage  or  entice,  by  fraudulent  or 
deceitful  representations  intended  or  natural- 
ly tending  to  induce,  entice  or  encourage,  an 
unmarried  woman  of  previous  chaste  character 
to  leave  her  father's  house  or  any  other  place 
where  she  may  be  found  for  the  purpose  of 
prostitution  or  for  the  purpose  of  unlawful  sex- 
ual intercourse  at  a  house  of  ill  fame  or  assig- 
nation, and  any  person  who  shall  in  any  man- 
ner aid,  abet  or  assist  in  any  such  solicitation 
for  such  purpose  shall  be  punished  by  impris- 
onment in  the  county  jail  for  not  less  than  six 
months  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison 
not  to  exceed  one  year. 

Procedure. 
Present  all  facts  regarding  violation  of  the 
above  statute  to  the  district  attorney  in  whose 
county  the  offense  is  alleged  to  have  been  com- 
mitted. 

WYOMING. 

Wyoming  has  the  following  statutes  respect- 
ing the  seduction  and  enticing  away  of  females 
for  the  purpose  of  prostitution: 

Any  male  person  who,  under  promise  of  mar- 
riage, shall  have  illicit  carnal  intercourse  with 
any  female  of  good  repute  for  chastity,  under 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  shall  be  deemed 


396  WAR  ON  THE 

guilty  of  seduction,  and  shall  be  imprisoned  in 
the  penitentiary  not  more  than  five  years,  or 
be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  more  than 
twelve  months. 

Sec.  5057,  Revised  Statutes  of  Wyoming, 
1899. 
Whoever  entices  or  takes  away  any  female 
of  good  repute  for  chastity  from  wherever  she 
may  be  to  a  house  of  ill-fame  or  elsewhere,  for 
the  purpose  of  prostitution,  shall  be  imprisoned 
in  the  penitentiary  not  more  than  five  years, 
or  may  be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not 
more  than  twelve  months. 

Sec.  5058,  Revised  Statutes  of  Wyoming, 

1899. 

Whoever  induces,  decoys,  procures  or  com- 
pels any  female  under  eighteen  years  of  age, 
or  causes  any  female  over  eighteen  years  of 
age,  against  her  will,  to  have  sexual  inter- 
course with  any  person  other  than  himself;  or 
knowingly  permits  any  other  person  to  have 
sexual  intercourse  with  any  female  of  good 
repute  for  chastity,  upon  premises  owned  or 
controlled  by  him,  shall  be  imprisoned  in  the 
penitentiary  not  more  than  five  years,  or  may 
be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  more  than 
six  months. 

Sec.  5064,  Revised  Statutes  of  Wyoming, 
1899. 

Wyoming  is  to  be  commended  also  for  hav- 
ing the  following  statute  respecting  persons 
known  as  pimps : 

Whoever  being  a  male  person,   frequents 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  397 

houses  of  ill-fame,  or  of  assignation,  or  asso- 
ciates with  females  known  or  reputed  aa 
prostitutes,  or  frequents  gambling  houses  with 
prostitutes,  or  is  engaged  in  or  about  a  house 
of  prostitution,  is  a  pimp,  and  shall  be  fined 
in  any  sum  not  more  than  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  more 
than  sixty  days. 

Sec.  5065,  Revised  Statutes  of  Wyoming, 
1899. 

Procedure. 
Report  violation  to  the  prosecuting  officer 
of  the  county  in  which  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted. 


398  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
A  PASTOR'S  PART. 

By  Melbourne  P.  Boynton,  Pastor  of  the  Lex- 
ington Avenue  Baptist  Church,  Chicago. 

At  the  request  of  the  publishers  this  chapter 
will  be  very  largely  the  relation  of  personal  ex- 
periences in  the  war  on  the  White  Slave  Trade. 
The  personal  pronoun  is  used  in  obedience  to 
instructions.  After  all,  that  is  the  most  useful 
testimony  which  grows  out  of  what  one  has 
seen  and  heard. 

It  is  just  twelve  years  since  my  pastorate  at 
the  Lexington  Avenue  Church  began.  Half 
of  that  period  had  passed  before  I  became  real- 
ly interested  and  informed  concerning  the 
strange  thing  now  so  widely  known  as  the 
White  Slave  Traffic!  What  is  this?  Do  you 
mean  to  tell  me  that  girls  and  young  women 
are  bought  and  sold?  Is  it  true  that  vile  men 
own  young  women  and  live  upon  their  earn- 
ings, the  wages  of  sin?  Is  there  a  market  to 
which  these  girls  are  brought  and  from  which 
they  are  sent  into  all  parts  of  the  land?  Are 
many  of  them  tricked  into  infamous  dens 
through  promised  employment  and  then  locked 
in  and  kept  for  weeks  and  months  and  made 
to  toil  and  respond  to  demands  that  at  last 
break  their  hearts  and  drown  their  hopes? 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  399 

Are  there  men  who  spend  their  whole  time 
traveling  about  the  country  getting  acquainted 
v/ith  nice  looking  girls  in  the  country  stores, 
hotels,  schools  and  even  the  homes,  using  every 
device,  not  stopping  short  of  marriage,  till 
they  have  sold  their  victims  into  the  life  that 
no  language  can  describe  and  no  clean  mind 
imagine?  Yes,  O  yes,  it  is  more  than  true! 
When  all  this  proved  itself  to  my  conscience, 
the  facts  burned  themselves  into  my  very  heart. 
The  call  was  so  loud  that  response  was  immedi- 
ate. But  there  were  so  few  trying  to  do  any- 
thing to  stop  the  traffic.  Rescue  work  was  be- 
ing done  but  the  trade  went  on.  The  wicked 
men  and  women  who  bought  and  sold  were  not 
interfered  with.  The  laws  were  weak  and 
there  were  many  loopholes.  The  workers 
were  not  of  the  earth's  mightj^  and  none  of 
the  churches  and  ministers  were  actively  en- 
gaged. Here  and  there  was  a  mission,  now  and 
then  a  Home  opened,  but  all  this  was  to  save 
the  sinner,  who  was  there  to  find  and  punish 
the  rascals?  What  could  be  done?  It  was  a 
most  discouraging  and  appalling  task. 

I  remember  that  it  was  during  the  winter 
of  the  Spanish-American  war  that  Rev.  J.  Q. 
A.  Henry,  D.  D.,  then  pastor  of  the  La  Salle 
Avenue  Baptist  Church  of  Chicago,  invited 
me  to  go  with  himself  and  a  friend  to  investi- 
gate the  conditions  in  the  "under  world."  At 
that  time  Dr.  Henry  was  making  a  heroic  fight 
on  the  frightful  situation  in  the  business  dis- 
trict.   Whole  streets  were  given  over  to  open 


400  ,WAR  ON  THE 

^-»     •    » 

vice.  The  vilest  saloons  flaunted  their  damn- 
ing attractions  in  the  face  of  every  passer  by. 
That  good  Minister  of  God  had  no  small  part 
in  the  awakening  Chicago  has  since  experi- 
enced. It  was  while  with  Dr.  Henry  that  I 
visited  for  the  first  time  the  notorious  resort 
at  441  South  Clark  street.  It  was  then  in  its 
strength  and  full  of  pride.  The  madam  carried 
a  key  to  the  police  patrol  box  at  the  corner. 
No  secret  was  made  of  the  business  carried 
on.  The  company  within  was  friendly  and 
tried  to  be  entertaining,  but  under  all  was  an 
awful  sadness,  the  smiles  were  shallow,  the 
whole  air  of  the  place  spelled  ruin.  Only  a 
few  months  thereafter  and  that  house  was 
closed.  In  the  autumn  of  1903  it  was  leased 
by  Mr.  O.  H.  Richards,  superintendent  of 
Beulah  Home,  and  opened  as  Beulah  Home 
South.  Into  those  same  parlors  I  went  on 
Thanksgiving  Day,  1903,  and  there  united 
with  a  little  band  of  Christian  workers  and 
helped  to  organize  a  company  of  people  that 
has  since  given  to  the  world  the  Midnight 
Mission  in  Chicago  and  the  Illinois  Vigilance 
Association  for  the  suppression  of  traffic  in 
women  and  girls. 

In  that  house  of  sin,  made  into  a  house  of 
prayer,  I  first  met  Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell,  now 
the  honored  Superintendent  of  the  Midnight 
Mission  and  the  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Illinois  Vigilance  Association.  It  was 
he  who  suggested  that  the  war  be  carried  into 
the  streets,  and  led  by  him  a  few  men  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  401 

women  ventured  forth  and  assailed  the  hosts 
of  sin  at  the  very  doors  of  the  brothels.  The 
dens  were  invaded  and  men  and  women 
warned.  The  City  Government  was  appealed 
to  and  in  less  than  two  years  the  business  dis- 
tricts and  Custom  House  Place,  infamous 
across  the  world,  were  cleared  of  open  houses 
of  shame.  Where  the  artful  scarlet  woman 
plied  her  deadly  trade  the  streets  are  now  full 
of  children,  and  the  houses  once  red  with  sin 
are  now  shops  of  new  citizens,  who  have  yet 
their  mother  tongue  and  the  strange  garb  of 
lands  across  the  seas. 

So  I  was  led  to  do  what  every  true  minister 
of  Christ  must  do.  I  investigated  the  moral 
conditions  of  my  home  city.  Knowledge  of 
its  culture,  acquaintance  with  its  commerce, 
friendship  with  its  schools  and  homes  and  zeal 
for  the  respectable  sinner  were  not  enough. 
The  man  who  is  set  to  guard  the  moral  inter- 
ests of  a  community  must  go  into  the  deeps 
and  darks  of  his  city.  He  must  know  first  hand 
what  the  dangers  to  youth  are,  where  the  traps 
for  girls  and  bo}^  are  set,  what  the  bait  used  is, 
how  the  ruin  is  wrought  and  what  the  remedies 
are.  Save  as  he  does  this  his  voice  will  not 
reach  far,  nor  his  protests  have  in  them  the 
moral  ring  of  the  man  who  knows.  The  dai> 
ing  youth  and  the  toughened  rascals  soon  de- 
tect whether  a  man  talks  from  aroused  con- 
viction and  a  pointed  purpose,  or  whether  he 
is  just  preaching  in  the  air  and  saying  things 
that  he  thinks  should  be  said. 


402  WAR  ON  THE 

My  investigations  convinced  me  that  all  thus 
far  said  was  true,  and  far  more  than  any  re- 
spectable man  can  know  was  terribly  rampant 
every  night  in  Chicago.  It  was  very  apparent 
that  more  men  and  women  of  influence  and 
power  must  give  earnest  thought  and  much 
time  to  the  solution  of  this  menacing  problem. 
A  Pastor's  part  was  very  clear  to  my  mind.  It 
is  said  that  the  Chinese  employ  a  physician  to 
keep  the  family  in  good  health,  he  draws  his 
fees  while  health  obtains.  That  is  something 
like  the  position  of  a  Christian  minister  in  his 
community.  It  is  his  business  to  promote  good 
health,  high  morals,  finest  ideals;  to  rebuke 
evil  in  all  of  its  forms,  and  especially  that  kind 
of  evil  nearest  his  own  doors  and  in  his  own 
city.  What  would  be  thought  of  the  physician 
that  spent  his  time  playing  with  the  children, 
reading  fine  poems  to  the  family,  indulging  in 
pretty  speeches,  but  running  away  when  dread 
diseases  began  to  show  themselves,  refusing 
to  treat  cancer,  smallpox,  or  other  fearful 
plagues.  So  is  the  preacher  who  is  content  to 
do  the  ordinary  work  of  his  pastorate  and 
takes  no  pains  to  investigate  the  moral  and 
social  conditions  of  his  town.  It  is  the  sacred 
duty  of  every  pastor  to  know  his  community  on 
its  unclean  and  diseased  side. 

But  I  saw  that  such  a  course  would  open  one 
to  grave  misunderstandings.  It  is  not  accord- 
ing to  the  accepted  order  that  a  minister  of 
a  large  city  church  should  browse  around  the 
slums  and  visit  in  the  brothels.    The  saloons 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  403 

were  not  a  part  of  his  expected  field  of  labor. 
It  was  prudent  and  indeed  necessary  that  the 
Church  should  speak  its  own  mind  in  these 
matters.  Therefore  the  whole  problem  was  laid 
before  the  Board  of  Deacons  and  later  before 
the  Church  itself,  with  the  result  that  the 
Church  voted  most  heartily  that  the  Pastor 
should  feel  free  to  use  one  day  a  week  in  such 
labors  on  behalf  of  the  fallen  and  outcast  as 
he  might  feel  led  to  do.  Further  the  Church 
placed  the  work  of  the  Midnight  Mission  upon 
its  regular  calendar  for  4  per  cent  of  all  the  mis- 
sionary funds,  contributions  to  be  made  quar- 
terly towards  its  work,  thus  putting  the  city- 
saving  work  on  a  level  with  every  other  mis- 
sionary enterprise  of  the  denomination.  So 
was  the  Pastor  given  the  endorsement  of  his 
people.  Such  action  provided  ample  protection 
and  was  as  wings  for  the  accomplishing  of  the 
gigantic  tasks  set  for  a  small  band  of  heroic 
men  and  women.  The  Church  was  kept  in- 
formed from  time  to  time  as  to  the  progress 
of  the  midnight  work.  Care  was  taken  not  to 
allow  this  work  to  become  a  mere  fad,  but  it 
was  so  presented  as  to  rank  with  every  other 
ministry  of  the  Church.  The  young  people 
were  not  drawn  into  this  type  of  work  at  all, 
as  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  to  take  young 
people  into  the  streets  of  sin  where  the  fight 
against  the  White  Slave  Traffic  was  being 
waged.  Earnest  warnings  were  given  the 
young  folk  and  the  young  men  were  especially 

instructed  in  the  dangers  and  allurements  of 
29 


404  WAR  ON  THE 

the  scarlet  woman.  Thus  the  Church  was  re- 
lated to  this  needed  warfare  in  both  a  physical 
and  spiritual  manner.  The  results  upon  the 
Church  are  most  striking  and  satisfactory.  It 
can  be  said  with  full  agreement  that  the  out- 
casts need  the  Church,  but  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  Church  needs  this  kind  of  service  and 
without  it  suffers  a  loss  of  sympathy  and  ag- 
gressiveness that  is  fatal  to  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  the  Church.  A  Church  ought  to 
die  fighting  itself  that  refuses  to  give  battle  to 
the  White  Slave  Traders!  Shame  on  the  min- 
ister and  the  Church  that  is  indifferent  under 
the  revelations  that  are  made  every  day  show- 
ing to  what  depths  the  vile  creatures  of  the  red 
light  districts  have  sunken  to  gain  a  little  more 
of  cruel  gold!  God  will  not  hold  guiltless  men 
and  women  who,  hearing  the  stifled  cries  of  the 
enslaved,  heed  them  not!  It  behooves  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  brave  men  who  freed  the 
black  slaves  to  rise  in  another  and  holier 
crusade  to  free  the  white  slaves  from  a  bondage 
blacker  and  more  damning  than  any  the  v^orld 
has  yet  known.  Yes,  it  is  high  time  that  every 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  investigated  the  con- 
ditions of  his  own  city  and  town. 

Country  ministers  have  great  opportunity  in 
this  warfare  on  behalf  of  women  and  girls.  It 
is  in  the  country  that  the  procurers  work. 
There  is  need  for  education,  outspoken,  per- 
sistent warnings  that  parents  must  be  com- 
pelled to  hear.  The  wise  and  earnest  words 
of  United  States  District  Attorney  Edwin  W. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  40$ 

Sims,  found  in  another  chapter  of  this  book, 
should  be  carefully  pondered  by  all  who  de-» 
sire  to  protect  young  womanhood.  Here  the 
country  preacher  will  find  his  cue  and  will  be 
instructed  as  to  what  he  can  and  ought  to  do. 

There  is  need  that  the  Pastor  co-operate 
with  existing  organizations  that  have  for  their 
purpose  the  suppression  of  this  frightful  evil. 
Already  in  nearly  every  city  of  any  size  there 
are  companies  of  good  people  banded  together 
to  wipe  out  the  White  Slave  Trafiic.  Let  the 
Pastor  seek  out  such  folk  and  give  them  a 
hearty  word  of  cheer.  Such  action  will  attract 
other  persons  of  influence  and  wealth  and  give 
character  and  power  to  the  crusade.  If  the  folk 
already  engaged  in  this  holy  cause  are  humble, 
unlearned  and  obscure,  let  the  man  of  God 
remember  that  "He  hath  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty." 

If  the  Pastor  is  wise  there  is  a  surprising 
weight  of  public  sentiment  that  will  arouse  at 
once  at  his  call.  The  Press  in  nearly  all  of  its 
forms  will  aid  him  and  give  wide  currency  to 
his  protests  and  suggested  methods.  This  has 
nowhere  been  more  clearly  shown  than  in  the 
late  session  of  the  Illinois  State  Legislature. 
Two  new  bills  were  up  for  passage,  they  had 
passed  the  Lower  House  without  an  opposing 
vote  and  were  on  the  calendar  of  the  Senate 
on  a  morning  when  I  happened  to  be  present. 
The  President  of  the  Senate  entertained  a  mo- 
tion to  send  the  bills  to  third  reading  without 
reference  to  a  committee,  one  of  the  Senators 


4o6  WAR  ON  THE 

>'    •:  ^1>     -rr\. 

was  busy  at  his  desk  reading  a  report  or  some- 
thing when  he  became  suddenly  aware  that 
some  bills  were  passing  to  third  reading  with- 
out the  customary  reference  to  a  committee. 
With  startled  air  he  arose  and  demanded  what 
those  bills  were.  The  President  waved  his 
gavel  at  him  and  said,  "the  White  Slave  Bills"! 
"O,"  said  the  Senator,  "that's  all  right,"  and 
sat  down  to  resume  the  reading  of  his  report. 
The  bills  then  passed  to  third  reading  without 
a  sign  of  opposition  on  any  man's  part.  This 
action  proved  to  me  how  very  strong  and  im- 
mediate is  the  response  of  the  good  people  of 
any  community  to  a  call  like  that  which  this 
book  send  up. 

We  have  always  found  the  police  ready  to 
help  in  any  practical  line.  It  is  now  nearly 
three  years  since  Superintendent  Bell  of  Mid- 
night Mission,  Miss  Lucy  A.  Hall,  a  deaconess 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  myself 
made  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  red-light  dis- 
trict and  put  the  Illinois  Statute  on  White 
Slavery  in  the  hands  of  nearly  every  dive 
keeper,  madam  and  many  of  the  prostitutes 
themselves.  This  is  the  form  of  that  leaflet 
distributed,  which  had  no  small  part  in  start- 
ing the  crusade  against  the  White  Slavers  in 
Chicago. 


It  is  a  penitentiary  offense  to  detain  any 
woman  in  a  house  of  prostitution  against  her 
will. 

The  Criminal  Code  of  Illinois  makes  the  fol- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  407 

lowing  provision  for  the  punishment  of  this 
crime  against  American  liberty: 

Sec.  57c.  "Whoever  shall  unlawfully  detain 
or  confine  any  female,  by  force,  false  pretense 
or  intimidation,  in  any  room,  house,  building 
or  premises  in  this  State,  against  the  will  of 
such  female,  for  purposes  of  prostitution  or 
with  intent  to  cause  such  female  to  become  a 
prostitute,  and  be  guilty  of  fornication  or  con- 
cubinage therein,  or  shall  by  force,  false  pre- 
tense, confinement  or  intimidation  attempt  to 
prevent  any  female  so  as  aforesaid  detained, 
from  leaving  such  room,  house,  building  or 
premises,  and  whoever  aids,  assists  or  abets 
by  force,  false  pretense,  confinement  or  in- 
timidation, in  keeping,  confining  or  unlawfully 
detaining  any  female  in  any  room,  house,  build- 
ing or  premises  in  this  State,  against  the  will 
of  such  female,  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution, 
fornication  or  concubinage,  shall  on  conviction, 
be  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  not  less  than 
one  nor  more  than  ten  years." 

No  "white  slave"  need  remain  in  slavery  in 
this  State  of  Abraham  Lincoln  who  made  the 
black  slaves  free.  "For  freedom  did  Christ  set 
us  free.  Be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke 
of  bondage,"  which  is  the  yoke  of  sin  and  evil 
habit. 


In  this  canvass  we  had  the  most  cordial  sup- 
port of  the  police.  Captain  Harding  of  the 
22nd  Street  Station  detailed  a  detective  to  ac- 


4o8  WAR  ON  THE 

company  us  and  he  showed  us  the  most  faith- 
ful attention. 

It  v^as  in  this  canvass  that  we  visited  the 
most  infamous  and  notorious  house  in  the 
West.  The  madam  of  this  particular  house 
told  us,  in  the  presence  of  the  policeman,  that 
she  had  paid  $160.00  each  for  two  girls  that 
had  been  sent  her  from  the  South.  She  also 
explained  how  safe  her  house  was  from 
violence  and  how  free  from  disease,  and  yet, 
before  our  conversation  ceased  she  admitted 
that  she  had  placed  105  girls  in  a  neighboring 
Christian  hospital  for  treatment.  Since  then 
that  hospital  has  stopped  doing  this  sort  of 
business.  The  President  of  the  institution  at- 
tested the  truth  of  the  woman's  statement  and 
afterward  put  an  end  to  her  patronage  of  his 
hospital.  Only  last  winter  I  had  the  opportun- 
ity of  holding  a  Christian  service  in  that  same 
house  of  shame.  Two  of  our  lady  workers  se- 
cured permission  to  conduct  such  a  meeting  for 
the  poor  girls  and  invited  me  to  take  charge  of 
the  service.  On  a  Sunday  night  at  about  12 130, 
four  of  us  went  to  that  house  and  preached 
Christ  to  some  fourteen  of  the  poor  creatures. 
One  of  them,  a  married  woman,  was  rescued 
the  next  night.  We  had  assurances  that  two 
or  three  others  determined  to  quit  the  evil  life 
and  go  home.  The  meeting  was  such  a  suc- 
cess, from  our  point  of  view,  that  the  madam 
said  she  did  not  think  another  service  of  the 
sort  could  be  arranged.  There  are,  however, 
many  places  open  for  just  such  effort  and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  409 

Pastors  that  have  the  support  of  their  Churches 
and  can  find  a  company  of  faithful,  sensible 
companions  in  the  work,  can  powerfully  as- 
sault the  strongholds  of  Satan  in  the  dark 
places  of  the  cities.  This  phase  of  the  work  is 
difficult,  delicate  and  perhaps  dangerous.  The 
most  fruitful  and  most  possible  kind  of  effort 
on  behalf  of  the  outcasts  is  in  the  open  air  meet- 
ings, the  street  gatherings,  where  the  gospel 
can  be  sung  and  preached  by  the  hour.  Crowds 
of  men,  mostly  young  men,  stand  for  hours 
listening  to  the  familiar  hymns  and  the  old,  old 
story  of  the  Cross.  Where  is  the  Pastor  more 
needed  than  in  just  such  gatherings?  Let  it 
be  said  for  the  Pastors  of  Chicago,  that  the 
mightiest  of  them  have  counted  it  a  joy  and 
privilege  to  preach  from  the  curb-pulpit  of  The 
Midnight  Mission.  If  the  list  of  the  ministers, 
lawyers,  judges,  physicians,  teachers,  deacons 
and  other  laymen  was  given  here  it  would  look 
like  an  honor  roll  of  the  City  of  Chicago.  The 
presence  of  the  Pastor  in  this  sort  of  work 
is  of  value  from  more  points  of  view  than  that 
of  preaching  alone.  To  see  the  accepted 
ministers  of  the  city  in  such  meetings  is  to  lift 
the  meetings  to  a  plane  with  the  Church  work 
and  worship.  It  gives  protection  to  the  work- 
ers when  the  Pastor  can  not  be  with  them.  It 
secures  the  respectful  attention  of  the  un- 
churched portion  of  the  community  and  as- 
sures the  police  that  the  efforts  are  sane,  sound 
and  determined.     It  should  be  the  purpose  of 


410  WAR  ON  THE 

every  Pastor  to  promote  such  open  air  work 
for  the  sinful  and  hopeless  of  his  city. 

The  Pastor  is  the  channel  through  which 
the  people  can  be  stirred  on  these  grave  social 
questions.  Let  him  educate  his  own  flock  and 
mightily  agitate  his  own  community.  In  the 
city  of  London  the  most  influential  clergymen 
are  not  hesitating  to  take  the  lead  in  reaching 
the  submerged  portions  of  the  population. 
Witness  this  testimony  found  in  "The  Church- 
man" for  May  2,  1908. 

THE  BISHOP  OF  LONDON  AS  A  MID- 
NIGHT MISSIONARY. 

"During  this  Lent  Dr.  Ingram  has  taken  as 
the  field  of  his  regular  Lenten  mission,  the  dis- 
tricts of  central  London.  In  addition  to  the 
many  parish  churches  in  which  he  has  spoken, 
he  has  given  addresses  in  connection  with  the 
mission  at  Westminster  Abbey. 

The  last  week  of  his  work  was  marked  by  a 
midnight  Church  Army  procession,  which, 
with  brass  band  and  torches,  perambulated  the 
most  squalid  quarters  of  Westminster  and 
Pimlico.  For  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  the  Church 
Army  workers,  headed  by  the  bishop,  marched 
slowly  in  the  rain  through  the  muddy  streets, 
halting  before  the  public  houses  (saloons), 
where  addresses  were  given  by  the  bishop.  By 
the  time  the  houses  were  closed  the  procession 
received  large  additions  from  the  crowds  of 
carousing  men  and  women,  who  came  out  of 
them  early  Sunday  morning.    A  meeting  was 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  411 

held  afterwards  in  the  schoolroom  of  one  of 
the  parish  churches  near  by,  where  there  was 
a  half -hour  of  hymn  singing,  and  a  final  ad- 
dress by  the  bishop." 

The  Bishop  of  London,  whom  Editor  Bok  of 
The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  calls  the  best  loved 
man  in  England,  has  taken  a  foremost  part  in 
the  purity  reform.  He  preaches  in  the  slums 
at  midnight,  and  on  the  other  hand  pleads  with 
the  leaders  of  his  church  and  nation  to  oppose 
with  the  light  of  truth  and  the  fire  of  earnest- 
ness the  evils  of  impurity  which  so  threaten 
the  national  life.  He  protests  in  public  by 
voice  and  pen  against  the  false  modesty  which 
keeps  young  people  in  ignorance  of  the  wages 
of  sin,  and  so  thrusts  them  blindfolded  into  the 
pitfalls  and  traps  which  the  evil-minded  al- 
ways have  in  readiness  for  the  untaught  and 
unwary.  The  good  bishop  insists  that  the  chil- 
dren and  youth  of  the  British  Isles  shall  know 
the  truth,  that  by  the  truth  they  may  be  made 
free.  He  is  unsparing  in  his  criticism  of  those 
who  would  have  the  people  go  on  in  ignorance 
to  their  injury  or  ruin. 

Surely  every  true  minister  of  the  Gospel 
needs  only  to  know  the  situation  and  become 
acquainted  with  the  black  facts  of  rampant  sin, 
to  buckle  on  his  armor  and  give  battle  to  the 
hosts  of  iniquity.  Why  then  should  I  labor  to 
convince  my  brothers  in  the  ministry?  O, 
Pastor,  Who-ever-you-are,  investigate,  co- 
operate and  agitate  until  all  the  slaves  are  free 
and  the  "mauvais  sujet"  are  converted  to  Jesus 
or  consigned  to  jail! 


412  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  MIDNIGHT 
MISSION. 

After  many  days  and  weeks  of  united  prayer, 
that  God  would  interpose  against  the  destruc- 
tion of  young  girls  and  young  men  in  the 
shameful  resorts  of  Chicago,  I  asked  Miss  Ella 
N.  Rudy,  on  an  August  afternoon  in  1904,  at 
a  meeting  at  441  South  Clark  street,  if  she 
would  come  the  next  night,  with  a  view  to  hold- 
ing a  meeting  in  Custom  House  Place,  which 
at  that  time  had  half  a  hundred  vile  resorts 
peopled  with  about  seven  hundred  ruined  girls. 
Miss  Rudy  is  a  woman  of  strong  and  earnest 
Christian  character,  and  I  appealed  to  her  be- 
cause I  knew  that  she  would  surely  come  if  she 
promised.  She  hesitated  a  moment  and  prom- 
ised to  come.  I  then  announced  to  the  score 
of  persons  present  that  such  as  would  like  to 
join  us  should  come  the  next  night  at  eight 
o'clock  for  prayer  and  at  ten  we  would  go  to 
the  street.  The  announcement  was  received 
with  intense  interest.  Pastor  Boynton,  who 
was  chairman  of  the  meeting,  immediately 
asked  permission  to  preach  the  first  sermon, 
which  was  gladly  granted.  Fifteen  devoted 
people  stood  with  him  when  he  came  to  preach. 

Miss  Rudy  is  now  a  missionary  at  Ping  Nam, 
Kwang  Sai  Province,  South  China.  On  De- 
cember 7,  1908,  she  wrote  me: 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  413 

"Yesterday  the  little  Prayer  Advocate  came 
and  in  it  I  noticed  your  request  for  prayer  for 
The  Midnight  Mission  and  I  was  reminded  of 
the  beginning  of  this  most  blessed  work.  I 
think  I  could  point  to  the  spot  where  you  said, 
after  telling  the  need  so  earnestly,  *Miss  Rudy, 
will  you  stand  with  me,  for  the  Lord  says 
where  two  agree  He  will  do  what  they  ask?'  I 
said,  *I  will,'  and  we  did  pray  fervently,  for, 
having  come  in  contact  with  Beulah  Home  and 
other  refuges,  I  had  seen  the  great  need  of 
going  out  to  seek  the  lost.  I  remember  our 
first  night,  when  we  hardly  knew  who  would  go 
with  us.  I  put  the  permit  near  so  if  an  officer 
came  we  could  show  it.  I  do  praise  God  for 
the  way  He  has  blessed  you  in  this  work.  I 
have  never  ceased  praying  for  this  work  and 
have  always  held  it  up  to  others  for  prayer,  as 
I  have  gone  from  place  to  place  in  evangelistic 
service.  I  was  so  sorry  to  leave  Chicago,  but 
God's  call  lay  in  another  direction.  I  know 
I  never  was  missed,  for  so  many  rose  to  their 
privilege  in  Jesus.  But  I  would  have  been 
missed  had  I  not  come  to  China  for  we  are  so 
few  in  number  here." 

Before  she  went  to  China,  Miss  Rudy  was  at 
one  time  holding  a  gospel  meeting  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, when  a  man  came  up  to  her  and  said: 
"You  do  not  know  me,  but  I  know  you.  I 
heard  you  speak  at  midnight  in  Custom  House 
Place  in  Chicago,  and  I  have  been  a  Christian 
man  since  that  midnight." 

As  I  was  a  missionary  in  India  and  Miss 


414  WAR  ON  THE 

Rudy  is  a  missionary  in  China,  and  as  we  con- 
stantly minister  at  midnight  in  the  streets  of 
Chicago  to  Chinese,  Japanese,  an  occasional 
Persian,  Hindu  or  Arab,  French,  Polish,  Rus- 
sians, Germans,  Italians,  Jews,  and  almost  ev- 
ery nationality  under  heaven,  The  Midnight 
Mission  has  some  features  of  a  foreign  mission- 
ary society. 

A  THOUSAND  WITNESSES  FOR 
CHRIST. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  this  unique  work 
many  earnest  people  came  to  help  us.  During 
the  five  years  past  nearly  a  thousand  persons 
have  taken  part  with  us — ^pastors,  professors, 
deaconesses,  foreign  missionaries  on  furlough, 
evangelists,  judges,  lawyers,  physicians,  "Gid- 
eons" and  other  business  men,  and  many  good 
women.  All  these,  with  breaking  hearts,  have 
shared  our  midnight  toil  and  peril,  snatching 
the  lost  from  the  fire  in  the  very  vestibule  of 
hell.  Among  the  well  known  ministers,  pro- 
fessors and  physicians  who  have  come  to  help 
in  the  meetings  are :  Rev.  Dr.  Cain,  modera- 
tor of  the  Presbytery  of  Chicago;  Rev.  Robert 
H.  Beattie,  the  recent  moderator;  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Balcom  Shaw,  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian church;  Rev.  Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon,  pastor 
of  the  Moody  church;  Professor  Graham  Tay- 
lor, Professor  Solon  C.  Bronson,  Professor 
Woelfkin,  of  Rochester,  New  York;  Professor 
G.  H.  Trever,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia;  Drs.  Lin- 
nell,  Pollack  and  Van  Dyke — the  last  a  lecturer 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  41s 

in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
which  is  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Harnly,  now  an  evangelist  for 
the  Baptist  State  Association  of  Illinois,  has 
preached  many  times  with  exceptional  power 
in  our  midnight  meetings.  Rev.  C.  A.  Kelley, 
Rev.  Ralph  Waller  Hobbs  and  Rev.  W.  E.  Hop- 
kins, formerly  a  missionary  in  India,  have  la- 
bored much  in  this  cause.  Scores  of  pastors  of 
Baptist,  Christian,  Congregational,  Episcopal- 
ian, Methodist  and  Presbyterian  churches  have 
preached  from  the  little  box  which  is  our  only 
pulpit,  except  when  now  and  then  a  good  friend 
brings  his  automobile  and  lets  us  use  it  for  a 
pulpit. 

Mr.  Rufus  S.  Simmons,  a  lawyer,  a  personal 
friend  of  President  Taf t,  is  president  of  the  mis- 
sion since  it  was  organized  at  the  end  of  1906; 
for  more  than  two  years  there  was  no  organiza- 
tion. Mr.  Simmons  very  often  attends  the 
meetings  and  takes  part.  His  partner,  Mr.  S. 
C.  Irving,  comes  occasionally  and  speaks. 
Judge  Scott  of  Paris,  Texas,  spent  one  night 
with  us,  and  former  Judge  Devlin  labors  dili- 
gently. 

Mr.  C.  E.  Homan,  president  of  the  Chicago 
camp  of  "Gideons,"  an  organization  of  Chris- 
tian commercial  traveling  men,  and  many 
members  of  that  order  have  steadily  helped  in 
this  work. 

Deaconess  Lucy  A.  Hall,  Miss  Helma  Suth- 
erland, Miss  Florence  Mabel  Dedrick,  mission- 


4i6  WAR  ON  THE 

ary  of  the  Moody  church,  Miss  Mary  F.  Turn- 
bull  and  scores  of  good  women  have  toiled  with 
us  in  the  night.  No  speaker  is  more  interesting 
and  alarming  to  young  men  than  Miss  Turn- 
bull,  who  was  formerly  a  nurse  in  an  asylum 
for  the  insane  in  New  York  and  knows  why 
many  of  the  patients  are  there. 

One  of  the  best  addresses  ever  given  in  our 
meetings  was  by  a  young  Jew,  Mr.  Nathan,  a 
reporter,  who  asked  leave  to  speak.  For  about 
forty  minutes  he  spoke  with  the  earnestness  of 
a  prophet,  though  he  spoke  more  of  temporal 
than  eternal  considerations.  The  sweat  poured 
down  his  face  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness 
and  temperance,  with  some  reference  to  judg- 
ment to  come. 

Another  friendly  Jew,  Mr.  Richard  L. 
Schindler,  has  come  scores  of  times  to  our 
meetings,  not  to  speak,  but  to  use  his  influence 
to  help  protect  us  and  otherwise  encourage  our 
work. 

Still  another  friendly  son  of  Abraham  gave 
me  information  when  enemies  were  plotting 
against  me.  He  warned  them  that  he  would 
expose  them  if  they  did  me  any  harm. 

A  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  FOOLISH 
YOUNG  MEN. 

Pastors  and  church  people  usually  have  no 
idea  of  the  multitudes  of  men  and  youths  from 
avenues,  boulevards  and  suburbs,  who  swarm 
by  the  ten  thousands  through  the  vice  districts 
of  great  cities  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  nights. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  417 

and  by  hundreds  or  thousands  every  other 
night.  Fathers  and  mothers,  sisters,  sweet- 
hearts and  neighbors  are  ignorant  of  the  ruin- 
ous folly  of  several  million  American  young 
men.  I  have  counted  them  passing  one  street 
corner  in  the  center  of  Chicago's  red  light  dis- 
trict—red with  the  heart's  blood  of  mothers, 
wives  and  babies — at  the  rate  of  3,500  an  hour. 
These  are  the  young  men  of  whom  we  read, 
"void  of  understanding'*  as  the  book  of  Prov- 
erbs fitly  describes  them.  They  gather  by 
troops  at  the  harlots'  houses  and  throng  the 
streets  of  shame  without  a  blush.  They  are 
even  ready  to  give  reasons  why  they  should 
support  these  slaughter  houses,  not  knowing 
that  "the  dead  are  there  and  her  guests  are  in 
the  depths  of  hell." 

One  night  I  dreamed  that  I  saw  a  young  man 
stepping  carelessly  on  and  off  a  railway  track, 
near  a  curve  around  which  the  express  train 
might  come  thundering  and  screaming  at  any 
moment.  Whether  on  the  track  or  off  it,  the 
young  man  was  indifferent  to  danger  and  wan- 
ton in  his  movements.  But  as  I  looked  I  saw  in 
my  dream,  that  there  was  nothing  whatever 
above  his  coat  collar — ^he  had  no  head.  This 
explained  his  recklessness.  A  hundred  times  I 
have  told  this  dream  to  crowds  of  young  men, 
to  illustrate  the  folly  of  men  who  have  heads 
and  do  not  use  them— "void  of  understanding." 
We  have  warned  probably  one  hundred  thou- 
sand of  these  foolish  young  men. 

The  Bible  is  always  with  us  and  always 


4i8  WAR  ON  THE 

foremost.  But  some  who  would  pay  no  re- 
gard to  an  open  Bible  in  the  street  preacher's 
hand,  instantly  give  heed  when  they  see  the  Re- 
vised Statutes  of  Illinois  open  at  the  criminal 
code,  and  they  listen  carefully  to  the  section 
which  pronounces  them  criminal  if  they  patron- 
ize an  evil  resort. 

We  quote  to  them  the  great  utterance  of 
Judge  Newcomer,  spoken  before  the  Methodist 
Preachers'  Meeting  of  Chicago,  September  17, 
1906,  when  he  said: 

THE  CRIMES  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

"The  great  majority  of  criminals  now  are 
young  men — an  appalling  crop  of  them  year  by 
year.  After  seven  and  a  half  years'  experience 
in  the  state's  attorney's  office,  during  which  I 
have  dealt  with  six  thousand  criminal  cases, 
sending  seven  to  the  gallows  and  hundreds  to 
the  penitentiary  and  reformatory,  I  believe  that 
the  chief  causes  of  crime  among  young  men 
are:  i,  Liquor,  2,  Lust;  3,  Drugs;  4,  Bad  asso- 
ciates. Of  these,  liquor,  bad  as  it  is,  is  not  the 
chief  cause  of  crime  among  young  men.  The 
chief  cause  is  that  next  after  liquor.  The 
welfare  of  the  city,  of  the  commonwealth,  of 
society  as  a  whole,  of  the  national  life  itself, 
is  menaced,  to  a  degree  exceeding  any  other 
cause,  by  the  social  evil." 

We  have  never  hesitated  to  warn  our  hearers 
by  the  prisons,  by  the  gallows,  by  the  most 
tremendous  issues  of  life,  death  and  eternity. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  419 

INSANITY,  SURGERY,  BLINDNESS. 

Some  who  are  willing  to  harden  themselves 
against  the  laws  of  God  and  man  alike,  lay  to 
heart  the  evidence  of  a  standard  medical  trea- 
tise on  insanity  when  it  is  opened  and  read  to 
them  in  the  street.  The  description  of  the 
brain  of  a  dead  lunatic,  who  lost  his  mind  and 
his  life  as  the  wages  of  the  sin  upon  which  they 
are  bent,  brings  a  pallor  over  the  faces  of 
crowds  that  seem  nailed  down  to  the  pavement 
and  unable  to  move  away.  Others  heed  the 
medical  testimony  concerning  the  fearful  suf- 
fering likely  to  come  upon  their  present  or  fu- 
ture wives  in  consequence  of  their  iniquity. 
Modern  surgeons  attribute  25  per  cent  of  sur- 
gical operations  upon  women — mostly  inno- 
cent wives — to  these  sins  against  chastity. 
Statistics  of  the  German  Empire,  Austria,  Den- 
mark, and  Holland  show  that  40.25  per  cent  of 
the  blind  in  the  asylums  of  those  countries  owe 
their  blindness,  usually  dating  from  earliest  in- 
fancy, to  one  of  the  diseases  associated  with 
prostitution — ^not  the  disease  commonly  most 
dreaded. 

We  distribute  leaflets  specially  prepared  and 
attractively  printed  in  two  colors,  telling  plain- 
ly the  criminality  of  vice  and  the  ruin  that  it 
brings  upon  the  body  and  brain  and  character 
of  transgressors.  We  have  printed  more  than 
150,000  tracts  and  cards,  which  are  eagerly 
taken  by  many  thousands  of  young  men  to  the 
anger  and  loss  of  the  keepers  of  the  criminal 

27 


420  WAR  ON  THE 

resorts.  The  work  of  tract  distribution  is  car- 
ried on  in  all  weather,  often  when  street  meet- 
ings are  impossible. 

This  educational  work  is  carried  on  in  friend- 
ly co-operation  with  The  Chicago  Society  of 
Social  Hygiene — organized  by  the  Chicago 
Medical  Society — which  supplies  us  with  circu- 
lars for  this  purpose.  This  feature  of  our  work 
led  to  an  invitation  to  our  superintendent  to  ad- 
dress The  Physicians'  Club  concerning  the 
work  of  The  Midnight  Mission.  Dr.  Archi- 
bald Church,  editor  of  The  Chicago  Medical 
Recorder,  has  asked  for  and  accepted  an  article 
on  this  work  for  his  paper. 

IN  RAIN  AND  SNOW. 

"I  respect  you,"  said  a  divekeeper  who  with 
others  has  since  abandoned  his  loathsome  bus- 
iness, "because  you  work  in  the  rain  and  you 
work  in  the  cold."  I  find  it  equally  blessed  to 
be  Christ's  witness  by  the  Martyrs'  Memorial 
in  classic  Oxford,  on  the  hot  sand  beneath  the 
palm  trees  of  Ceylon  and  India,  and  on  a  snow- 
bank among  Chicago's  red  lights.  Everywhere 
large  audiences  stand  eagerly  listening  to  the 
messengers  of  God.  Our  midnight  street 
meetings  continue  three,  four,  five,  and  even 
six  hours  at  one  place,  in  the  summer. 

CONVERSIONS— AND  BETTER. 

Several  women  have  repented  and  have  been 
cared  for  or  restored  to  their  relatives.  But  our 
effort  has  been  chiefly   directed   toward   the 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  421 

thousands  of  men  and  youths  whose  money 
supports  the  institutions  that  destroy  manhood 
and  womanhood  alike.  Hundreds  of  repentant 
men  and  boys  have  knelt  in  the  dust  of  Custom 
House  Place,  Peoria  Street,  and  Armour  Ave- 
nue. In  social  and  business  position  they  range 
from  a  wholesale  merchant  and  a  fallen  minis- 
ter to  gamblers  and  wrecks. 

But  what  can  be  better  than  conversions 
— that  make  glad  the  heart  of  God?  Nothing, 
except  preventing  the  children  of  God  from 
plunging  into  deadly  sin.  If  the  only  good  ac- 
complished by  our  midnight  cry  were  the  pre- 
vention of  the  ruin  of  a  dozen  youths  in  a  year, 
it  would  be  gloriously  worth  while  to  keep  on 
crying.  But  hundreds  have  turned  back  from 
the  brink  of  perdition,  including  university  stu- 
dents and  Church  members.  With  outstretched 
hands  and  glad  gratitude,  they  say  to  us :  "We 
thank  you ;  you  have  kept  us  from  sin  tonight !" 
When  we  recall  Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow's  esti- 
mate, quoted  by  Dr.  Howard  A.  Kelly  in  a  pa- 
per read  before  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion, that  450,000  American  young  men  make 
the  plunge  into  the  moral  sewer  every  year,  we 
see  what  an  enormous  field  there  is  for  this  pre- 
ventive work. 

i  One  Sunday  night  a  young  husband  from 
Racine,  Wisconsin,  whose  wife  was  in  poor 
health,  listened  to  our  plain  words  and  turned 
back  from  the  sin  he  intended.  He  had  never 
been  warned  and  he  was  very  thankful;  he  told 
me  he  was  a  Catholic   and  had  never   gone 


422  WAR  ON  THE 

wrong.  Another  evening  a  very  handsome 
young  man,  twenty-eight  years  old,  listened  to 
the  words  of  warning  and  then  came  to  me 
quietly  and  said:  "I  am  a  Christian  and  a 
church  member  and  I  have  never  gone  wrong, 
but  I  was  just  about  to  go  into  one  of  these 
houses  of  shame,  while  waiting  for  a  train 
which  is  late,  when  I  saw  your  gospel  meeting 
and  have  been  kept  back  from  sin  by  your  mes- 
sage. Most  men  would  be  ashamed  to  tell  you, 
but  I  tell  you  for  your  encouragement." 

IF  THIS  WERE  YOUR  SON. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  repentant  men  and 
youths  who  have  knelt  in  the  dust  of  Chicago's 
most  infamous  streets,  in  the  open  air  meetings 
of  The  Midnight  Mission,  is  one  whom  we  will 
call  Joe. 

One  Saturday  night  Joe  came  to  our  meeting 
and  told  us  that  he  was  a  gambler,  a  pickpock- 
et, a  drunkard,  a  libertine  and  worse — enticing 
girls  from  their  homes  and  placing  them  in 
houses  of  infamy.  He  asked  us  to  pray  for  him, 
which  of  course  we  did.  Joe  disappeared  for 
an  hour  or  so,  but  returned  at  midnight  to  our 
meeting,  and  at  half-past  twelve  knelt  in  the 
street,  with  another  repentant  young  man,  con- 
fessing his  ruinous  and  shameful  sin. 

For  four  years  since  that  night  we  have  kept 
in  touch  with  Joe.  We  were  obliged  to  advise 
his  father — living  in  another  state,  an  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  who  never  suspected 
anything  wrong  in  his  son — to  take  more  in- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  423 

terest  in  Joe,  and  not  to  take  less  interest  in 
the  class  of  other  men's  sons  that  he  was  teach- 
ing in  Sunday  School.  On  his  own  motion  Joe 
told  his  father  the  whole  heart-breaking  truth. 
Unspeakably  humiliated,  the  father  proved 
himself  a  father  indeed,  and  did  everything  in 
his  power  to  restore  the  young  man  to  a  right 
life,  at  great  cost  to  himself. 

Joe  now  has  his  own  home  and  his  own  busi- 
ness. He  is  a  respected  citizen,  instead  of — 
God  knows  what — ^most  likely  a  despicable 
white  slave  trader  in  Chicago  or  Detroit  or 
New  York.  He  is  one  of  hundreds  who  have 
heeded  our  midnight  protest  against  terrible 
sin,  our  midnight  testimony  for  thg  Lamb  of 
God,  who  takes  away  sin. 

ANTAGONISM— PROTECTION- 
TRIUMPH. 

At  the  beginning  of  our  work  the  keepers  of 
evil  resorts  were  respectful  and  to  a  degree 
friendly.  During  the  second  summer,  1905,  the 
meetings  increased  very  greatly  in  power. 
Sometimes  we  continued  preaching  from  ten 
o'clock  at  night  till  three  in  the  morning. 
Workers  reached  their  homes  after  daylight, 
with  hearts  almost  bursting  for  gladness  be- 
cause many  sinners  had  repented.  As  many  as 
fifty  workers  were  engaged  in  the  same  block 
at  once,  holding  four  simultaneous  meetings. 
All  were  working  voluntarily  and  without  pay. 
I  myself  was  earning  my  expenses  with  my 
pen. 


424  WAR  ON  THE 

Thousands  of  misguided  men  had  their  at- 
tention called  to  the  cross  of  Christ  and  the 
holy  life  every  week.  The  revenues  of  the  re- 
sorts were  seriously  diminished.  One  man- 
ager, who  had  been  misled  in  his  boyhood  and 
genuinely  regretted  the  loathsome  life  he  was 
leading,  said  to  me,  *Tf  you  Christian  people 
keep  coming,  weVe  got  to  go."  The  Christian 
people  kept  coming.  That  man  has  since  quit 
his  awful  business. 

With  our  increasing  spiritual  power,  keepers 
of  saloons  and  resorts  became  alarmed  for  their 
revenues  and  began  to  offer  resistance.  They 
hired  express  men  to  drive  into  our  meetings 
and  organ  grinders  to  disturb  us  with  their 
noise.  On  one  occasion  a  cab  driver  was  paid 
to  drive  at  high  speed  into  our  meeting,  where 
deaconesses  and  many  Christian  women  were 
assisting.  Many  times  automobiles  were  sta- 
tioned near  us  and  made  as  noisy  as  possible  in 
order  to  harass  us.  They  wasted  some  nice 
fresh  eggs  on  us,  and  a  melon.  As  we  were 
proceeding  lawfully,  under  legal  permits  from 
the  police  department,  we  called  upon  the  po- 
lice for  complete  protection.  While  an  Ameri- 
can patrolman  was  on  the  beat  we  had  no  trou- 
ble, but  a  foreign-born  officer  showed  us  con- 
siderable disfavor.  We  had  our  own  opinion 
of  the  source  of  his  ill-will.  Chief  Collins  was 
entirely  just  and  friendly  and  took  all  necessary 
measures  for  our  protection. 

At  length,  managers  of  resorts,  saloons  and 
gambling  dens  in  notorious  Custom  House 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  425 


Place  calculated  that  each  hour  we  worked  they 
lost  $250,  and  they  determined  to  give  us  "the 
worst  of  it"  even  if  they  had  to  hire  thugs  to 
slug  me.  We  kept  steadily  calling  upon  God 
and  faithfully  preaching  His  truth.  At  length, 
near  the  end  of  October,  such  representations 
were  made  to  Chief  Collins  that  he  ordered  our 
meetings  stopped  at  ten  o'clock — ^when  they  be- 
gan— on  the  ground  that  we  were  disturbing 
the  sleep  of  lodgers  in  hotels  two  blocks  away! 
Thereupon,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Arthur  Bur- 
rage  Farwell,  Miss  Lucy  Page  Gaston,  Deacon- 
ess Lucy  A.  Hall,  Miss  Eva  Marshall  Shonts 
and  others,  eleven  in  all,  we  called  upon  the 
chief  of  police,  explained  our  surprise  at  being 
stopped  in  our  work,  which  was  entirely  lawful, 
and  requested  him  to  cleanse  that  street  of  re- 
sorts which  were  entirely  unlawful.  This  he 
immediately  promised  to  do,  on  condition  that 
we  would  not  stir  the  newspapers  or  arouse 
public  sentiment  to  compel  him  to  do  it.  We 
accepted  his  word  and  awaited  fulfillment.  Two 
months  later — namely,  at  Christmas,  1905,  he 
notified  the  resorts,  and  published  in  the  news- 
papers, that  they  must  vacate  on  the  first  of 
May,  1906. 

THE  DIVES  OFFER  A  BRIBE  OF  $50,000. 

During  the  intervening  months  the  white 
slave  traders,  gamblers,  keepers  of  the  worst 
disorderly  saloons  and  some  property  owners 
and  real  estate  agents  who  made  money  out 


426  WAR  ON  THE 

of  that  precinct  of  perdition,  raised  a  slush 
fund,  employed  an  attorney  and  used  every  de- 
vice in  their  power  to  gain  a  continuance  of 
their  nefarious  traffic  in  the  heart  of  Chicago 
— for  they  were  between  the  Federal  building 
containing  the  postoffice,  and  the  Dearborn 
passenger  station,  used  by  the  Erie,  Grand 
Trunk,  Santa  Fe  and  Monon  railways. 

Mayor  Dunne  told  Pastor  Boynton  and  my- 
self, at  the  Sherman  House  on  the  evening  of 
March  15,  1907,  when  his  political  enemies 
were  accusing  him  falsely  of  being  the  friend 
of  vice,  that  the  divekeepers  offered  him  $50,- 
000  if  he  would  allow  them  to  remain  four 
months  more  in  Custom  House  Place.  Mayor 
Dunne,  a  man  of  the  highest  character,  attested 
this  statement  by  an  appeal  to  God.  Chief  Col- 
lins had  previously  told  me  that  the  dives  had 
made  this  offer  but  he  had  replied  to  them,  "If 
you  had  Marshall  Field's  money  you  cannot 
stay  there  after  the  first  of  May,  if  I  am  chief  of 
police,  so  help  me  God."  No  political  or  other 
influence  could  induce  him  to  waver  or  to  re- 
verse his  order,  and  when  the  first  of  May  came 
he  drove  them  out  with  a  mailed  fist. 

Mayor  Dunne  told  us  that  while  he  was  on 
the  bench  the  case  of  a  Polish  girl  came  before 
him,  which  had  prepared  his  mind  to  act 
against  the  resorts  if  he  should  ever  have  pow- 
er. This  innocent  immigrant  girl  had  arrived 
at  the  Dearborn  station  and  had  been  lured  in- 
to one  of  the  adjacent  dens,  her  clothes  taken 
from  her,  and  herself  made  a  white  slave. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  427 

ON  THE  WEST  SIDE. 

In  1906  we  worked  principally  on  the  vice- 
ridden  streets  of  the  West  Side.  After  the 
earthquake  in  San  Francisco  many  depraved 
women,  with  their  parasites,  took  refuge  in 
Chicago.  These  were  very  brazen  women,  and 
the  vile  young  men  who  lived  on  their  shameful 
earnings  were  cunning  in  thwarting  the  police. 
Conditions  became  insufferable.  So  wide  open 
was  the  district  that  a  secretary  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  walking  four 
blocks  on  the  sidewalk  was  solicited  by  sixty- 
two  women  from  their  open  doors  and  win- 
dows. A  police  court  justice  was  accused  of 
assessing  petty  fines  against  these  offenders 
when  the  police  brought  them  into  court. 

We  steadily  preached  the  word  and  prayed 
to  God  to  abolish  those  frightful  traps  for  boys. 
We  learned  of  one  boy,  a  choir  boy  in  a  Meth- 
odist church,  who  was  dragged  forcibly  into 
one  of  those  dens,  and  infected  with  a  disease 
from  which  he  soon  died. 
^  Captain  Barcal,  of  the  Desplaines  street  po- 
lice station,  in  plain  clothes  and  unknown  to 
the  evangelists,  visited  our  midnight  gospel 
meeting  in  Peoria  street  at  the  corner  of  Ran- 
dolph, Saturday  night,  September  15.  Several 
repentant  young  men  were  on  their  knees  in 
the  dust,  surrounded  by  missionaries  working 
with  them  and  praying  for  them.  The  captain 
said  to  Alexander  Cleland,  one  of  the  secre- 
taries of  the  Central  Young  Men's  Christian 


4^9  WAR  ON  THE 

Association:  **I  will  not  tolerate  any  inter- 
ference with  this  good  work," 

One  Sunday  afternoon  as  we  were  working 
on  Sangamon  street  a  beautiful,  sinful  Jewess 
insulted  me  and  justified  herself  by  saying  with 
a  strong  Jewish  accent,  "You  spoil  our  busi- 
ness." The  next  Sunday  or  so  a  young  Jew  par- 
asite succeeded  in  breaking  up  our  meeting. 
Captain  Barcal  was  indignant  and  took  better 
care  of  us  than  ever.  One  Sunday  a  Jew  said 
to  me,  "The  girls  say  you  have  spoiled  their 
business."  Soon  afterward  a  police  order  and 
the  new  municipal  courts  utterly  transformed 
that  region.  Business  interest  were  weary  of 
such  outrageous  conditions  and  demanded  a 
decisive  change.  Some  months  afterward  a 
policeman  remarked  upon  the  transformation 
and  explained,  "The  Lord's  time  came  to  work 
and  He  has  been  working."  There  is  still  very 
much  to  be  done  there,  but  the  former  flagran- 
cy  of  vice  has  been  abolished. 

Mr.  Henry  De  Vries,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  J. 
Macdonald  and  Mr.  R.  M.  Hawkins  worked 
with  me  during  our  conflict  on  the  West  Side. 
Mr.  Macdonald  was  killed  the  next  year  by 
a  train. 

AT  TWENTY-SECOND  STREET, 

For  the  last  three  years  since  our  mission 
was  organized,  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Balcom  Shaw,  we  have  la- 
bored mostly  in  the  great   vice   district   and 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  429 

white  slave  market  at  Twenty-second  street. 
Of  course  we  had  no  very  glad  welcome,  after 
the  preceding  conflicts.  I  have  been  assaulted 
three  times  in  that  district  and  several  who 
have  worked  with  us  have  been  roughly 
handled.  Vile  drugs  have  been  thrown  into 
our  meetings  and  on  our  clothes — ^assafoetida 
and  hydrogen  sulphide.  Viler  words  have  been 
hurled  into  our  ears.  One  French  trader 
threatened  to  break  me  to  pieces  and  send  me 
to  a  hospital  if  it  cost  him  a  mint  of  money,  but 
he  afterward  became  friendly  and  finally  quit 
his  loathsome  business. 

Objection  was  made  to  our  scientific  teach- 
ing and  circulars.  Even  the  police  captains, 
who  have  always  taken  splendid  care  of  us, 
were  influenced  by  our  adversaries  to  object 
to  our  telling  the  young  men  about  the  dis- 
eases that  are  on  sale  in  the  resorts.  Our  cir- 
culars and  the  circulars  of  the  Chicago  Society 
of  Social  Hygiene  were  referred  by  the  chief 
of  police  to  the  corporation  counsel  who 
promptly  approved  them.  He  said  we  were 
like  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  and  our  circu- 
lars not  immoral  but  highly  moral  We  have 
circulated  nearly  a  million  pages  of  these  circu- 
lars. Young  men  hear  us  gladly  and  accept 
the  circulars  with  thanks.  I  have  counted  two 
hundred  men  listening  at  once  to  Evangelist 
J.  R.  Beveridge,  who  is  very  plain  spesiing, 
while  he  was  working  with  us. 


430  WAR  ON  THE 


OTHER  WORKERS  IN  THE  NIGHT. 

The  Salvation  Army  and  the  Volunteers  of 
America  do  not  hold  meetings  in  the  vice  dis- 
tricts of  Chicago,  but  women  officers  of  those 
societies  do  visit  the  resorts  selling  papers.  At 
times  both  Salvationists  and  Volunteers  have 
taken  part  in  our  midnight  meetings.  Many 
people  passing  our  meetings  suppose  that  we 
are  from  the  Salvation  Army,  as  it  is  believed 
to  do  such  work.  The  Army  has  rescue  and 
maternity  homes  and  does  much  good  work 
for  the  fallen,  but  the  preaching  in  the  vice  dis- 
tricts is  done  by  our  own  and  similar  recent 
organizations. 

Rev.  V.  A.  M.  Mortensen,  a  Lutheran  min- 
ister, has  organized  The  Rescue  League,  which 
looks  for  support  chiefly  to  the  Lutheran 
churches.  Mr.  Mortensen  preaches  in  the 
night,  chiefly  on  the  West  Side.  He  is  much 
interested  in  the  work  against  the  white  slave 
trade.  Through  his  agency  Jennie  Moulton 
was  sent  to  Joliet  under  a  sentence  of  twenty 
years  for  procuring  young  girls  for  some  de- 
graded Greeks.  Mr.  Mortensen  has  also  been 
very  diligent  against  dealers  in  obscene  pic- 
tures and  postcards. 

Rev.  N.  K.  Clarkson  has  worked  part  of  the 
time  with  The  Midnight  Mission  and  part  of 
the  time  independently.  He  has  organized  The 
White  Cross  Midnight  Missionary  Association, 
which  is  very  diligent,  preaching  sometimes 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  431 

almost  all  night  and  never  ceasing  for  rain  or 
snow.    This  heroic  work  compels  respect. 

Dan  Martin  works  Saturday  nights  in  the 
vice  district  with  a  large  company  of  devoted 
people.  Hundreds  of  men  and  youths  have 
knelt  in  the  dust,  confessing  their  sins,  in  Mr. 
Martin's  meetings. 


JUSTICE 

Three  men  went  out  one  summer  night, 

No  care  had  they  nor  aim, 
And  dined  and  drank — ^"Ere  we  go  home 

We'll  have,"  they  said,  "a  game." 

Three  girls  began  that  summer  night, 

A  life  of  endless  shame; 
And  went  through  drink,  disease  and  death, 

As  swift  as  racing  flame. 

Lawless  and  homeless,  foul  they  died; 

Rich,  loved,  and  praised  the  men; 
But  when  they  all  shall  meet  with  God, 

And  Justice  speaks — What  then? 

— Stopford  A.  Brooke. 

E.  A.  B. 


432  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

HELEN     CHAMBERS,     SOME     OTHER 
GIRLS  AND  "DAISY." 

This  is  the  story  of  Helen  Chambers  as  told 
in  a  special  dispatch  from  Kansas  City,  Mis- 
souri, to  the  Republican  of  Joliet,  Illinois,  and 
published  in  that  newspaper  August  5,  1909. 
Drink,  drugs  and  debauchery  hurried  this  win- 
some and  respected  girl  to  her  coffin  before 
nineteen  years  had  passed  over  her  head.  She 
is  one  of  thousands  who  perish  similarly  every 
year  in  this  beautiful  land  of  churches  and 
colleges. 

FIRST   DRINK   SENDS   GIRL  TO   HER 
RUIN. 

Died  a  Drug  Fiend. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Aug.  5. — On  last  New 
Year's  eve  Helen  Chambers,  daughter  of  a 
respected  family  of  Aurora,  a  girl  not  yet  18 
years  old  and  still  a  student  in  the  high  school, 
with  a  girl  companion  went  to  Chicago.  There 
in  a  cafe  Helen  Chambers  took  her  first  drink. 
She  took  several  drinks,  and  before  the  night 
was  over  was  enjoying  to  the  fullest  the  fas- 
cinations of  a  life  that  she  had  never  known 
before. 

After  a  lapse  of  several  months  Helen  Cham- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  433 

bers  died  at  the  general  hospital  this  morning 
of  a  reaction  following  an  operation.  Her  sys- 
tem had  been  too  weakened  by  dissipation  to 
recover  from  the  shock.  A  mental  and  phy- 
sical wreck,  she  had  gone  to  the  hospital  in 
the  vain  hope  of  relief. 

Lives  Two  Weeks  on  Absinthe. 

Within  seven  months  Helen  Chambers,  the 
simple  Aurora  girl  crowded  events  into  her 
life  that  would  have  been  good  measure  for 
as  many  years.  From  the  simple  drinks  that 
she  indulged  in  on  her  first  night,  which 
marked  the  passing  of  the  old  year,  she  went 
in  for  the  stronger  ones.  For  two  weeks  prior 
to  being  taken  to  the  general  hospital  she  vir- 
turally  lived  on  absinthe,  and  at  the  last  she 
began  using  morphine.  A  message  to  her 
mother,  still  living  in  Aurora,  received  no  re- 
sponse and  the  girl,  with  her  life  slowly  ebbing 
out,  dozed  restlessly  through  weary  and  tor- 
tuous minutes  until  the  end  came. 

"I  was  just  quitting  high  school,"  she  said 
yesterday,  when  asked  to  tell  her  story.  "On 
New  Year's  eve  I  went  to  Chicago  with  an- 
other girl.  We  met  two  boys  and  went  to  a 
cafe,  where  the  New  Year's  celebration  was 
just  starting.  I  didn't  know  what  it  was  like, 
but  I  found  out.  Everything  was  in  order, 
but  I  noticed  that  the  girls  seemed  to  drink 
as  much  as  the  men. 

"Every  one  drank  freely  and  soon  it  seemed 
as  though  every  one  was  intoxicated.    I  took 


434  WAR  ON  THE 

my  first  drink  because  every  one  seemed  to 
be  drinking  and  to  be  happy  as  well.  The 
minutes  passed  quickly  and  my  brain  grew 
numb. 

Decides  to  Leave  Her  Home. 

"I  don't  know  exactly  how  I  got  out  of  the 
cafe  or  the  events  leading  up  to  it.  But  when 
I  awoke  the  next  morning  I  felt  disgraced. 
That  was  the  beginning,  this  is  the  ending  of 
it. 

'*I  then  decided  to  run  away  from  home.  I 
decided  it  would  be  best.  I  came  to  Kansas 
City  about  April  i.  I  fell  in  with  bad  asso- 
ciates, but  finally  married.  I  went  to  Dallas, 
Texas,  with  my  husband.  There  we  quarreled 
and  he  returned  to  Kansas  City  without  me, 
but  I  soon  followed.  We  made  up  here,  but 
quarreled  again  and  separated,  and  then  I 
started  anew,  and  the  rest  you  know.  I  slept 
in  a  cheap  rooming  house  last  Sunday  night. 
Monday  I  came  here,  hoping  that  there  might 
be  some  relief,  but  it  seems  all  up  with  me." 

Both  Miss  Chambers  and  her  parents  are 
well  known  to  many  Joliet  residents. 

VETERAN     MINISTER    PROTESTS 
AGAINST  THE  VICE  TRAFFIC. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Duncan  C.  Milner,  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  War  and  a  veteran  in  the  wars  of 
the  Lord,  published  the  following  warning 
against  the  white  slave  traders  in  the  same  is- 
sue of  the  Joliet  Republican,  which  told  the 
tragic  story  of  Helen  Chambers. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  435 

Systematic  Traffic  in  American  Girls. 

There  has  been  much  said  in  the  public  press 
about  the  "White  Slave  Traffic."  Some  peo- 
ple suppose  that  this  is  only  one  of  the  sen- 
sational inventions  of  yellow  newspapers. 
There  is  undoubted  evidence  that  young  wo- 
men are  made  articles  of  merchandise  for  vile 
purposes  and  that  the  business  of  supplying 
'ihe  market  has  assumed  vast  proportions. 

The  evil  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  great 
city.  While  Chicago  may  be  the  headquarters 
for  this  traffic  in  human  flesh  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  the  smaller  cities  and  the  rural 
districts  are  involved.  Edwin  W.  Sims,  Unit- 
ed States  district  attorney,  has  prosecuted  a 
number  of  cases  against  the  white  slave  trad- 
ers and  has  also  by  his  articles  in  "The  Wo- 
man's World"  given  to  the  public  the  results 
of  investigation.  Mr.  Sims  said  he  had  to  "put 
aside  personal  feelings  against  appearing  in 
print  in  connection  with  a  subject  so  abhor- 
rent," because  he  wanted  fathers  and  mothers 
to  know  the  perils  of  their  daughters. 

The  extent  of  this  evil  can  only  be  judged 
by  the  statements  of  such  men  as  Mr.  Sims, 
his  assistant,  Mr.  Parkin,  Clifford  G.  Roe,  as- 
sistant state's  attorney  of  Cook  County,  and 
by  a  number  of  judges  of  the  courts. 

It  has  been  said  by  investigators  that  20  per 
cent  voluntarily  enter  such  a  life,  and  that  80 
per  cent  are  led  into  it  or  are  entrapped  and 
sold.  A  small  per  cent  of  these  are  from  for- 
eign countries,  but  two-thirds  of  them  are  from 

.28 


436  WAR  ON  THE 

our  country  and  largely  from  farms  and  smal- 
ler towns  and  cities* 

This  systematic  traffic  in  girls  from  Amer- 
ican homes  is  carried  on  by  male  parasites, 
who  live  lives  of  luxury  from  their  gains  from 
this  work  as  procurers  and  panderers.  Wo- 
men are  also  used  to  beguile  other  women  for 
the  trade. 

These  infamous  creatures  sometimes  go  as 
agents  for  books,  gramophones,  or  machines. 
A  woman  now  in  the  penitentiary  said  she  can- 
vassed communities  to  sell  toilet  articles,  for 
the  purpose  of  finding  girls. 

Victims  are  looked  for  in  railroad  depots, 
and  trains  are  watched  for  young  women  trav- 
eling alone. 

General  deliveries  in  post  offices  are  watched 
where  young  women  call  for  letters. 

Recruiting  stations  are  found  in  dance  halls, 
in  the  cities  and  amusements  parks  with  drink- 
ing places  as  attachments.  Ice  cream  parlors 
and  fruit  stores  sometimes  serve  as  spiders' 
webs  for  entanglement. 

The  villainous  men  engaged  in  this  work 
assume  the  guise  of  friends  and  sometimes 
will  even  talk  to  parents  about  getting  fine 
positions  for  their  girls.  They  are  promised 
places  in  stores  and  laundries  and  in  a  number 
of  cases  theatrical  positions,  with  large  pay. 
Sometimes  the  procurer  professes  to  have  fal- 
len in  love  and  marries  his  victim  and  then 
sells  her  in  the  market.  Several  of  the  run- 
away marriages  on  the  boat  excursions  and  at 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  437 

summer  resorts  have  been  shown  in  the  courts 
as  of  this  fraudulent  order. 

After  girls  are  caught  in  the  net  and  drawn 
into  a  vile  resort  various  plans  are  made  to 
complete  their  ruin  and  hold  them  in  absolute 
bondage.  Their  street  clothes  are  taken  away, 
they  are  not  allowed  to  write  letters  to  their 
friends,  and  some  are  confined  under  lock  and 
key. 

Their  owners  keep  them  in  debt  for  clothes, 
charged  for  at  exorbitant  prices,  their  wages 
are  often  paid  to  the  parasite  who  has  claims 
upon  them  and  often  these  ties  of  debt  and 
vice  so  fasten  the  bonds  of  slavery  that  they 
become  broken  and  desperate.  All  of  these 
things  and  many  more  unprintable  details  of 
these  cases  have  been  made  matter  of  court 
record  and  show  that  this  systematic  traffic  in 
American  girls  is  not  a  fiction. 

Tq  show  the  tremendous  financial  gains  of 
the  traffic,  one  couple  gave  a  bond  of  $26,500 
and  immediately  ran  away  and  forfeited  their 
bond. 

To  combat  this  wide  spread  evil  a  National 
Vigilance  Committee  has  been  organized  and 
a  number  of  states  including  Illinois,  have 
forrned  state  societies,  ^*to  suppress  traffic  in 
women  and  girls."  The  Chicago  Law  and  Or- 
der League,  of  which  Arthur  Burrage  Far^ 
well  is  president,  has  done  active  work  in  aid- 
ing to  prosecute  cases.  Chicago  has  also  The 
Midnight  Mission  of  which  R.  S.  Simmons, 
an  attorney  pf  high  standing  is  president,  and 


438  WAR  ON  THE 

Rev.  Ernest  A.  Bell  is  superintendent.  Street 
meetings  are  held  in  the  "Red-light"  districts 
and  work  is  done  to  spread  the  teachings  as 
to  the  penalties  of  vice  and  the  blessings  of 
purity,  and  appeals  are  made  from  legal,  san- 
itary, moral  and  spiritual  motives  for  men  and 
women  to  be  saved. 

Judge  Mack  of  Chicago  and  Judge  Ben 
Lindsey  of  the  Juvenile  Court  of  Denver,  with 
noted  physicians  and  ministers  have  spoken 
and  written  words  of  warning  to  parents  and 
also  have  sent  out  pleas  for  wise  instruction  of 
children  for  their  protection  from  the  evils  of 
sexual  vice. 

It  is  not  enough  to  simply  prosecute  the 
monsters  who  are  part  of  this  vile  traffic,  but 
there  should  be  a  campaign  of  education  in  all 
communities,  city  and  county,  with  better  laws 
and  more  strict  enforcement  of  those  we  now 
have.  Duncan  C.  Milner. 

Many  ministers  might  well  follow  Dr.  Mil- 
ner's  example  and  write  articles  for  the  news- 
papers to  whose  columns  they  have  access,  in- 
structing, warning  and  alarming  parents  and 
brothers  of  girls  and  the  girls  themselves 
against  the  enemies  of  every  home  in  the 
world. 

AMERICAN  GIRLS  IN  MOST  DANGER. 

An  able  investigator,  a  lady  whose  name  we 
cannot  divulge,  comparing  virtuous  immi- 
grants and  American  girls,  writes; 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  439 

"The  foreign  girls  have  a  safeguard  in  early 
marriage.  While  unmarried  and  away  from 
home,  they  usually  live  with  families  of  their 
own  nationality  and  are  treated  as  members 
of  the  family.  Italian  girls  are  further  pro- 
tected by  the  severe  standards  of  their  parents; 
an  Italian  father  will  almost  kill  a  daughter 
who  has  gone  astray.  I  have  found  Russian, 
Jewish,  and  Italian  girls  innocent,  very  sweet 
and  trustful. 

"American  wage-earning  girls  on  the  other 
hand  present  a  different  picture.  While  many 
of  them  find  homes  in  private  families  or 
among  friends,  many  others  are  rooming  in 
houses  where  there  is  no  one  to  look  after 
them.  Many  of  them  have  no  sitting  room  in 
which  to  receive  men  friends  and  have  to  use 
their  bedrooms  for  this  purpose.  Some  girls 
speak  of  this  necessity  with  regret  and  a  seri- 
ous realization  of  the  situation.  Such  girls 
<:an  live  under  such  conditions  and  be  safe. 
Others  resent  the  implication  that  these  con- 
ditions are  dangerous,  feeling  that  their  own 
virtue  is  questioned.  Others  treat  the  matter 
flippantly. 

^  "The  men  and  women  who  are  interested  in 
girls  for  no  good  reason  have  no  difficulty  in 
meeting  the  American  girls,  working  as  they 
do  in  stores,  offices,  hotels  and  restaurants. 
I  believe  that  the  American  girl  is  surrounded 
by  more  numerous  and  far  more  subtle  temp- 
tations than  is  the  foreign  girl." 


440  WAR  ON  THE 

KITTY  SCHAY. 

(This   story   is   clipped   from   The   National 
Prohibitionist.) 

Another  of  the  horrid  stories  that  have  come 
to  light  in  the  work  of  the  Law  and  Order 
League  of  Chicago  is  that  of  a  young  girl  who 
may  be  known  here  as  Kitty  Schay.  This  girl 
was  born  in  Milwaukee  twenty-one  years  ago, 
and  became  an  orphan  when  only  four  years 
old.  She  was  brought  up  in  the  home  of  an 
aunt  who  seems  to  have  been  a  good  woman, 
but  somewhat  unfeeling,  and  was  given  little 
or  no  opportunity  for  education,  going  to  work 
at  any  early  age. 

Seeking  amusement  and  companionship  that 
her  home  did  not  give  her,  the  poor  girl  began 
to  frequent  the  public  halls  where  dances  were 
given,  under  saloon  auspices,  and  came  to  at- 
tract much  admiration  and  secure  many  ac- 
quaintances because  of  her  graceful  dancing. 
These  associations  led  to  late  hours,  and  al- 
though the  girl,  under  circumstances  that  made 
truthtelling  likely,  insists  that  she  was  guilty 
of  no  offenses  against  virtue,  her  aunt  became 
angry  with  her  and  drove  her  from  her  home. 

Thrust  upon  her  own  resources,  the  poor 
creature  sought  work,  living  in  a  cheerless  fur- 
nished room,  and  found  her  associations  for 
companionship  and  pleasure  at  dances  and  in 
concert  halls  and  in  the  back  rooms  of  some  of 
the  numerous  gin  mills  that  flourish  in  the  city 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  441 

of  Milwaukee,  with  the  approval  and  consent 
of  so  many  of  that  city's  good  people. 

Thus  she  lived,  comparatively  blameless, 
amid  perils  and  temptations,  until  one  night 
she  was  introduced  to  a  young  woman  who 
offered  her  a  position  in  Chicago  where  she 
could  earn  "good  wages."  The  winter  was 
coming  on.  The  child  had  no  store  of  winter 
clothing  and  looked  forward  to  the  terrible 
days  of  December  and  January  with  dread. 
She  realized  that  the  scanty  pay  for  which  she 
worked  would  buy  her  little  of  what  she  need- 
ed, and  when  the  temptress  talked  to  her  of 
what  seemed  to  her  fabulous  pay  she  consent- 
ed all  too  willingly. 

Perhaps  she  did  not  inquire  too  closely  into 
the  character  of  the  work  to  which  she  was 
going.  She  had  begun  to  drink,  indeed,  she 
says  she  was  partially  intoxicated  at  that  mo- 
ment with  drink  that  had  been  furnished  her 
by  the  woman  and  a  male  companion.  At 
least,  she  agreed  to  go,  and  at  the  depot  in 
Chicago  was  met  by  a  closed  hack  in  which 
she  was  taken  at  once  to  one  of  the  dives  of 
Chicago's  greatest  vice  preserve  where  the 
police,  to  whom  she  glibly  told  the  story  that 
ghe  had  been  instructed  to  tell,  speedily  en- 
rolled her  as  a  woman  of  the  "underworld." 

Then  began  two  months  of  horror.  Expo- 
sure to  disease,  unthinkable  brutality,  degrada- 
tion never  before  dreamed  of— these  were  her 
portion  in  a  full  cup;  and  the  alluring  prospect 
of  pay  that  had  baited  the  trap  faded  away  and 


442  WAR  ON  THE 

she  received  in  return  for  all  this  nothing  but 
the  barest,  scantiest  living. 

At  length  a  frequenter  of  the  place,  in  whom 
honest  impulses  were  not  wholly  dead,  moved 
by  her  sorrowful  story,  fought  her  way  out  of 
the  dive  and  reported  the  case  to  the  Law  and 
Order  League. 

The  police  have  sent  the  poor  creature  back 
to  Milwaukee  to  what  improvement  of  fate  it 
may  well  be  imagined.  And  the  vice  mills 
grind  on,  and  the  police  are  busy  "registering" 
new  victims. 

SALVATION  ARMY  EXPERIENCES. 

Some  time  ago  a  Chicago  girl  found  herself 
orphaned  and  almost  friendless ;  her  aunt  cared 
for  her  for  a  little  while,  but  life  was  so  un- 
bearable there  that  she  decided  to  try  domestic 
service. 

One  of  the  best  known  department  stores  in 
this  city  was  at  that  time  running  a  Labor  Bu- 
reau ;  the  girl  went  there  and  in  due  time  was 
presented  to  a  pleasant-faced  ladylike  woman, 
who  offered  her  employment  as  "parlor-maid." 

The  poor  girl,  with  glad  heart  and  bright 
hopes,  set  off  for  her  new  home;  but  before 
night  fell  she  found  that  she  had  been  sold  in- 
to a  slavery  worse  than  death.  Her  pleadings 
and  tears  were  all  in  vain,  and  it  was  some 
months  later  before  an  opportunity  of  escape 
presented  itself.  Then,  while  walking  on  Clark 
street  with  the  keeper  of  the  house,  she  sud- 
denly espied  a  little  group  of  Salvationists 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  443 

holding  an  open-air  meeting.  To  the  amaze- 
ment and  consternation  of  the  woman  with 
her,  the  girl  not  only  paused  to  listen,  but  took 
her  stand  between  two  Army  girls,  saying, 
"You  will  take  care  of  me,  I  know." 

That  night  she  slept  in  an  Army  Rescue 
Home,  and  stayed  with  us  for  some  time.  An 
operation,  made  necessary  by  the  life  she  had 
been  forced  to  live,  ended  her  days;  but  she 
died  in  peace,  confident  that  she  was  going  to 
a  world  where  sorrow  and  sin  never  can  enter. 

Captain  G.,  a  Salvation  Army  officer  while 
doing  house  to  house  visitation  in  the  "Red 
Light"  district,  was  amazed  to  meet  a  woman 
who  came  from  her  own  township  in  the 
Fatherland. 

It  was  perhaps  a  sentimental  feeling  which 
prompted  the  woman  so  freely  to  speak  to  the 
officer  in  reference  to  her  chosen  life.  She  said 
that  years  ago  she  had  been  beguiled  to  this 
country  by  an  advertisement,  which  promised 
a  good  home  and  good  wages  to  suitable  girls. 
She  replied  to  the  advertisement  and  in  due 
time  was  met  at  a  Chicago  railway  station  by 
the  parties  with  whom  she  corresponded;  and 
a  few  hours  later  found  to  her  horror,  that  her 
confidence  had  been  betrayed  and  that  she  was 
an  unwilling  guest  of  a  resort. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape;  and 
as  time  went  on  she  grew  accustomed  to  it  and 
concluded  that  as  others  were  making  money 
in  such  fashion,  she  would  follow  their  ex- 
ample.   For  years  she  has  maintained  a  dis- 


444  WAR  ON  THE 

reputable  house,  and  most  of  the  girls  who  live 
in  it  were  entrapped  and  snared  from  their 
country  homes  much  after  the  same  fashion 
as  she  herself. 

A  Canadian  school  girl  started  to  make  a 
visit  to  her  married  sister  in  New  York  State. 
The  train  reached  its  destination  several  hours 
late.  The  sister,  who  had  been  waiting  at  the 
railway  station  for  hours,  had  just  returned  to 
her  home  when  the  train  arrived;  thus  there 
was  no  one  to  meet  the  little  girl  at  the  end 
of  her  journey. 

A  man  who  had  been  lounging  around  the 
railway  station,  stepped  up  and  asked  her 
whom  she  was  waiting  for.  Innocently  enough 
she  told  him  the  whole  story,  when  he  re- 
marked that  he  had  been  sent  by  the  sister  to 
take  her  to  her  home.  Stepping  into  a  car- 
riage they  drove  to  a  well  appointed  house; 
but  in  his  haste  to  leave  the  station  unobserved, 
the  man  had  forgotten  to  ask  for  the  check 
for  the  child's  trunk. 

Leaving  the  little  one,  he  returned  to  the 
station  where  the  married  sister  was  frantical- 
ly making  inquiries  in  reference  to  the  traveler 
and  was  told  that  no  one,  answering  that  des- 
cription, had  stepped  from  the  train.  How- 
ever the  trunk  standing  there  with  the  child's 
initials  on  it  made  her  confident  that  her  sister 
had  arrived  and,  in  some  unexplained  fashion, 
had  disappeared. 

While  the  controversy  with  the  station- 
master  was  going  on,  a  man  came  up  to  claim 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  445 

the  trunk;  and  an  innocent  girl  was  thus  saved 
from  the  hands  of  the  procuress,  for  the  house 
to  which  she  had  been  taken  proved  to  be  a 
notorious  house  of  ill-fame. 

No  steps  were  taken  in  this  case,  as  in  thou- 
sands of  others,  to  punish  the  wfong-doer; 
the  sister  dreading  the  notoriety,  which  would 
follow  such  a  case. 


We  present  in  this  book  photographs  of 
"Daisy,"  who  died  the  day  these  words  are 
penned.  One  picture  shows  her  at  seventeen 
in  her  beauty,  "young  and  so  fair."  Another 
shows  her  dying  in  the  poorhouse  before  she 
is  twenty,  after  one  year  of  sinful  indulgence 
and  one  year  of  lingering  death.  The  third 
shows  her  coffin,  if  the  photographer  is  suc- 
cessful in  snapping  it  tomorrow  as  the  hearse 
leaves  the  undertaker's  rooms,  for  her  friends 
are  too  ashamed  to  give  her  burial  from  their 
home.  These  and  all  the  others  in  this  book 
are  actual  photographs,  correctly  named  and 
in  no  way  made  up  or  misrepresented.  The 
story  of  Daisy  is  told  over  their  signatures, 
by  Rev.  W.  E.  Hopkins,  formerly  a  missionary 
in  India,  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
West  Pullman,  and  a  worker  in  The  Midnight 
Mission;  and  Miss  Belle  Buzzell  who  has  been 
for  many  years  a  worker  in  the  slums  and 
prisons  of  Chicago.  Miss  Buzzell's  picture  is 
seen  beside  the  bed  of  the  dying  girl.  It  was 
"Daisy's"  own  expressed  desire  that  her  death 
might  be  life  to  other  girls  by  its  warning. 

Note — For  the  subscription  edition  of  this  work  an  artist  baa 
added  several  illustrations,  wMcb  are  easily  distinguisbed  from 
tbe  photog-rapbs.  ^ 


446  WAR  ON  THE 


THE  STORY  OF  "DAISY." 

We  found  her  one  day  in  March  in  the  ven- 
ereal ward  at  Cook  County  Hospital.  She 
was  unconscious,  and  it  was  five  weeks  before 
she  could  tell  us  her  story.  One  of  those  great 
blue  eyes  was  sightless.  One  hand  was  crip- 
pled. Her  lower  limbs  were  paralyzed.  She 
was  dying — dying  of  the  horrible,  loathsome, 
putrefying  disease  of  the  life  of  shame. 

Poor  child!  This  was  the  work  of  but  one 
year  of  this  life  and  she  was  not  yet  twenty 
years  old.  During  that  miserable  year  of  sin, 
she  was  ill  but  recovered  sufficiently  to  resume 
the  service  of  lust.  Then  came  the  break  and 
for  long  weary  months  she  lay  helpless  in  the 
resort  amidst  the  revellings  of  her  stronger 
companions  and  their  consorts — ghastly  haunt 
of  the  women  whose  way  ends  in  death. 

The  madam  was  kind  to  her,  Daisy  told  us, 
and  during  the  long  illness  at  the  hospital  and 
later  at  the  poorhouse  she  visited  her  fre- 
quently, bringing  flowers  and  fruit  and  supply- 
ing her  with  money  for  the  little  delicacies 
which  the  county  forgets  to  provide.  But  she, 
too,  is  a  woman  of  sorrow.  She  is  much  bet- 
ter than  her  business  and  did  not  mean  that 
her  parlor  should  become  a  death-chamber. 
When  we  told  her  tonight  of  Daisy's  death 
she  broke  down  in  an  agony  of  tears  and  for 
an  hour  cried  out  her  story  of  shame,  of  heart- 
break, of  regret  and  remorse,  and  of  longing 
for  home  and  a  worthy  life.    Yet  she  is  bound 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  447 

for  the  present  and  we  pray  for  her  deliver- 
ance from  this  partnership  with  hell,  and  hope 
that  Daisy's  death  may  be  as  the  touch  of  the 
Divine  Spirit  that  shall  restore  in  her  the 
marred  image  of  an  exalted  Christian  woman- 
hood. 

About  two  years  ago  Daisy  was  left  an  or- 
phan under  peculiarly  sad  conditions.  She  re- 
sented the  solicitude  of  an  only  sister — tho'  her 
senior — and  as  neither  was  a  Christian,  the 
friction  grew  into  a  quarrel.  She  was  given 
the  alternative  of  submission  or  separation, 
and  her  sensitive  spirit  sought  a  place  in  the 
strange  world  without. 

She  entered  the  employ  of  a  man  whose 
family  and  business  standing  gave  her  reason 
to  believe  that  she  could  trust  him,  and  she 
testifies  that  he  treated  her  as  a  true  friend 
until  he  had  won  her  entire  confidence.  Then 
in  an  hour  of  need  when  she  was  in  search  of 

a  new  place,  he  directed  her  to  No. West 

Madison  street.  He  did  not  take  her  in,  lest 
he  be  charged  with  selling  her  as  a  white 
slave,  but  left  her  on  the  brink  of  ruin  to  take 
the  plunge  alone.  How  true  the  saying  of 
the  wise  man,  "Confidence  in  an  unfaithful 
man  in  time  of  trouble  is  like  a  broken  tooth 
or  a  foot  out  of  joint." 

After  six  months  at  Cook  County  Hospital 
she  was  removed  to  the  infirmary  at  Dunning. 
She  thought  that  her  sister  was  having  her 
taken  to  a  private  sanitarium  and  the  rude 
awakening  in  the  County  poorhouse  broke 


448  WAR  ON  THE 

her  heart.  We  had  secured  funds  for  a  Chris- 
tian burial  to  save  her  from  the  potter's  field, 
when  after  a  long  search,  we  found  her  sister, 
who  will  bury  her;  and  we  would  gladly  have 
saved  her  from  the  poorhouse  had  it  been 
within  our  power. 

She  told  us  that  she  was  always  of  an  af- 
fectionate disposition  and  was  led  to  hope  that 
her  lonely  heart  would  find  loving  companion- 
gbip  among  prostitutes.  Oh!  God,  judge  these 
devourers  of  loving,  trustful,  innocent  children. 
Instead  of  love  she  found  betrayal  and  shame 
and  remorse,  and  sickness,  and  death ;  another 
victim  sacrificed  to  ignorance  and  treachery 
and  greed  and  lust. 

During  the  second  month  in  the  hospital, 
Daisy  made  such  gain  as  to  raise  hopes  of  at 
^east  partial  recovery.  With  returning  strength 
she  came  to  realize  the  sinfulness  of  her  life 
and  repented  in  deep  humility.  She  was  at 
her  best  when  she  accepted  Jesus  as  her  Sav- 
ior, and  definitely,  determinedly  yielded  her- 
self to  him.  Her  sympathy  went  out  to  the 
diseased  and  friendless  other  girls  in  the  ward, 
and  her  testimony  moved  them  profoundly. 

Her  love  for  Jesus  grew  so  strong  that  one 
desire  possessed  her-— that  she  might  live  to 
warn  girls  of  the  sure  end  of  the  evil  way  and 
win  them  to  Christ.  In  response  to  flowers 
and  loving  messages  from  young  peoples'  so- 
cieties and  friends,  she  sent  most  pathetic 
warnings.  "Tell  the  girls  for  me  always  to 
confide  in  and  obey  their  mothers,"  was  her 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  449 

common  message,  and  she  urged  us  to  tell  her 
story  wherever  we  could  to  warn  mothers  and 
daughters,  and  to  use  it  in  every  possible  way 
to  save  lost  girls. 

In  fulfillment  of  her  request,  we  send  out  on 
this  day  of  her  death,  September  2,  1909,  this 
message  to  accomplish  the  ministry  that  she 
was  unable  to  perform. 
"She,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

Belle  Buzzell, 
W.  E.  Hopkins, 

Missionaries. 
E.  A.  B. 


450  WAR  ON  THEi 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  VICE  DIS- 

TRICTS  OF  LOS  ANGELES  AND 

DES  MOINES. 

"My  God!  If  I  only  could  get  out  o£  here!" 
This  midnight  shriek  of  a  young  girl  in  the 
"crib"  district  of  Los  Angeles  pierced  the  ears 
and  the  hearts  of  Rev.  Sidney  C.  Kendall  and 
Rev.  Wiley  J.  Phillips,  editor  of  The  Califor- 
nia Voice.  They  joined  hands  under  the  mid- 
night sky  and  vowed  to  God  and  to  each  other 
to  fight  against  that  white  slave  market  until 
it  was  annihilated. 

Mr.  Kendall  could  pray  and  preach  and 
write.  Mr.  Phillips  controlled  the  columns  of 
the  Voice,  and  also  had  the  spirit  and  skill  to 
use  the  law  against  the  horrible  traders  in 
girls.  Every  week  the  Voice  exposed  and  de- 
nounced the  "cribs."  Everyday  Mr.  Kendall 
wrote  an  article  or  a  chapter,  or  addressed  a 
ministers'  meeting  against  the  city's  awful 
curse  and  shame.  At  night  these  determined 
men  led  little  companies  of  ministers  and  others 
through  the  crib  district  that  they  might  know 
the  infamies  that  were  practiced  in  their  city. 

Mr.  Kendall  wrote  a  book,  "The  Soundings 
of  Hell,"  exposing  the  white  slave  traffic,  par- 
ticularly in  Los  Angeles.    Mrs.  Charlton  Ed- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  451 

holm  made  one  hundred  and  twenty  speeches 
in  the  churches,  pleading  that  Christ's  people 
stamp  out  the  traffic  in  girls.  Mass  meetings 
were  held,  petitions  were  signed,  circulars  were 
sown  broadcast  exposing  the  appalling  con- 
ditions and  demanding  the  destruction  of  the 
slave  market.  On  Sunday,  December  15th, 
three  thousand  people  from  the  churches  gath- 
ered at  Temperance  Temple  and  marched  like 
an  army  into  the  crib  district — "Heaven  in- 
vaded Hell." 

Mr.  Phillips  believed  in  all  this  and  helped 
it  all  along,  but  he  also  believed  that  the  law 
was  made  for  the  unholy  and  profane.  He 
collected  evidence  for  use  in  court  and  signed 
complaints  when  no  one  else  was  willing  to  do 
it.  He  was  warned  that  if  he  assailed  the  own- 
ers of  the  crib  district  he  took  his  life  in  his 
hands,  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  be  deterred 
by  threats.  He  found  that  Ballerino,  an  Ital- 
ian millionaire,  owned  many  of  the  cribs.  Mr. 
Phillips  brought  fifteen  of  the  girls  into  court 
to  show  that  they  were  paying  Ballerino  $7.50 
a  day  for  each  of  the  sordid  rooms  called 
"cribs." 

The  first  girl  called  to  the  witness  stand 
perjured  herself,  and  failure  seemed  inevitable 
as  the  witnesses  had  been  tampered  with.  She 
herself  asked  to  be  recalled  to  the  stand,  said 
she  had  lied  and  wished  now  to  tell  the  truth, 
as  the  girls  had  been  talking:  it  over  and  had 
decided  to  tell  the  truth.    The  other  fourteen 

29 


452  WAR  ON  THE 

then  gave  truthful  testimony.  Ballerino  was 
convicted,  an  appeal  to  the  higher  courts  went 
against  him,  he  was  put  on  the  chain  gang  and 
compelled  to  pay  a  fine  and  costs,  though  he 
was  a  millionaire. 

Agitation,  publicity  and  prosecutions  were 
maintained  until  the  scandalous  crib  district 
of  Los  Angeles  was  absolutely  annihilated. 
The  French  traders  recognized  that  the  city 
was  no  longer  a  market  for  girls  and  turned 
their  cargoes  aside  to  other  cities,  that  love 
these  monstrous  beasts  so  dearly  that  they 
give  them  segregated  districts,  where  they 
may  enslave  young  girls  and  debauch  young 
men,  with  assurance  that  laws  are  contemp- 
tible, and  graft  is  precious,  and  the  good  peo- 
ple have  sand  in  their  eyes. 

The  story  of  the  destruction  of  the  open 
market  for  girls  in  Des  Moines  is  best  told  in 
the  following  articles  of  the  commissioner  of 
public  safety,  the  chief  of  police  and  the  city 
physician.  The  determination  to  annihilate 
the  dens  which  had  been  protected  so  long  was 
caused  in  part  by  the  high  crime  of  bringing 
back  a  girl  who  had  escaped  to  another  city, 
to  compel  her  to  work  out  a  debt  in  one  of  the 
dives  of  Des  Moines.  We  are  indebted  for 
these  articles  to  The  Light,  published  at  La 
Crosse,  Wisconsin,  by  B.  S.  Steadwell. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  453 

THE    NIGHTMARE    ENDED    IN    DES 
MOINES. 

By  J.  L.  Hamery,  Superintendent,  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Safety. 

Of  all  the  cities  of  the  United  States,  Des 
Moines  stands  today  a  bright  and  shining  ex- 
ample of  the  utter  fallacy  of  the  "segregation'' 
idea.  Practiced  more  or  less  openly  for  twen- 
ty years  or  more,  now,  after  a  few  months  of 
freedom,  the  past  seems  like  a  nightmare, 
which  it  is  impossible  to  believe  will  ever  be 
tolerated  in  this  city  again. 

In  a  short  paper,  hurriedly  prepared,  it  will 
be  impossible  to  give  much  more  than  general 
statements  of  opinion.  We  have  affidavits, 
statistics*  of  arrest,  opinions  of  high-class 
citizens,  opinions  of  independent  investigators 
from  other  states,  statements  from  experience 
by  police  officials  and  city  physicians  to  sup- 
port the  following: 

Segregation,  as  applied  to  prostitution,  is 
but  another  term  for  "incubation." 

Segregation  is  the  nucleus  and  backbone  of 
the  White  Slave  Traffic. 

Segregation  provides  a  resort,  refuge  and 
hiding  place  for  criminals  and  thugs  of  every 
description. 

Segregation  is  affiliated  with  gambling,  boot- 
legging, opium  and  cocaine  joints. 

Segregation,  with  its  red  lights,  its  music, 
the  painted  women  in  the  windows,  etc.,  pro- 
vides an  educational  feature  for  school  chil- 


454  WAR  ON  THE 

dren  and  students,  the  possibilities  of  which 
can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

Segregation  could  never  be  made  to  com- 
pletely segregate,  but  rather,  provided  a  center 
from  which  prostitution  radiated  in  every  di- 
rection like  a  cancer. 

Segregation  makes  its  baleful  influence  felt 
in  business  and  politics  and  is  a  direct  factor 
in  all  the  criminal  influence  of  a  large  city. 

All  the  open  and  recognized  houses  of  pros- 
titution in  the  city  of  Des  Moines  were  sup- 
pressed by  a  general  police  order  issued  Sep- 
tember 8,  1908.  With  the  exception  of  two 
police  captains,  one  of  whom  is  now  chief  of 
police,  the  order  was  criticized  by  the  body  of 
police  and  especially  by  the  then  chief;  it  was 
opposed  by  city  officials;  public  sentiment 
made  no  especial  demand  for  it,  to  say  the 
least,  and  it  was  freely  prophesied  that  the 
order  would  be  followed  by  a  saturnalia  of 
crime  and  rapes.  I  am  free  to  confess  that 
even  the  honest  doubters  could  advance  many 
plausible  arguments  on  the  utter  absurdity  of 
trying  to  totally  suppress  this  evil.  But  now, 
after  a  few  months'  trial,  one  of  the  most  con- 
vincing (if  somewhat  amusing)  tributes  to  the 
unqualified  success  we  have  met  with,  in  spite 
of  the  most  diabolical  opposition,  is  the  man- 
ner in  which  officials  of  all  degrees  of  impor- 
tance are  now  jumping  into  our  band-wagon 
and  actually  trying  to  crowd  us  out. 

The  fact  that  we  have  an  army  post  and  a 
full  regiment  of  cavalrymen  was  repeatedly 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  455 

advanced  with  arguments  and  statements  as 
to  what  might  be  expected  from  this  source 
alone  if  the  red  light  districts  were  abolished. 
It  is  true  that  soldiers  were  giving  the  city 
much  trouble  at  that  time.  Murders  and  rapes 
were  becoming  common  occurrences.  Loud 
and  indignant  protests  were  being  made  by 
citizens  and  the  press  of  the  city  was  filled 
with  debates  of  what  to  do  with  soldiers  and 
the  army  post. 

With  the  suppression  of  the  segregated  dis- 
tricts all  trouble  with  soldiers  ceased  as  if  by 
magic.  It  was  very  clearly  proved  that  with 
temptations  removed  soldiers  are  quite  as 
good  as  average  citizens,  and  there  is  no  furth- 
er talk  of  removing  the  fort  from  this  city.  All 
through  the  troublous  times  of  "red-light," 
however,  the  officers,  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers and  the  very  many  respectable  soldiers, 
were  always  eager  and  ready  to  co-operate 
with  the  police  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and 
order. 

No  one  questions  the  success  of  the  suppres- 
sion of  public  houses  of  prostitution  in  this 
city,  and  no  disinterested  person  questions  the 
beneficent  effect.  What  the  future  holds  is 
open  to  serious  conjecture.  Some  of  the  ad- 
vocates of  segregation  have  loudly  expressed 
the  hope  that  a  brothel  would  be  set  up  by  the 
side  of  each  "preacher's"  door,  so  that  the  city 
would  be  glad  to  return  to  segregation.  A  city 
election  v/ill  be  held  next  spring,  complicated 
with  a  fierce  struggle  for  the  congressional 


456  WAR  ON  THE 

nomination.  There  is  no  doubt  the  so-called 
"liberal  element"  will  be  a  unit  for  an  open 
town,  while  the  better  elements,  as  usual,  will 
be  confused  and  divided.  In  the  event  of  the 
election  of  a  reactionary  who  could  secure  con- 
trol of  the  Department  of  Public  Safety,  the 
cause  of  clean  and  moral  city  government 
would  receive  a  decided  setback.  Nothing  less 
than  everlasting  vigilance  by  the  heads  of  the 
police  department  will  keep  the  city  out  of  the 
old  rut.  Great  things  are  expected  from  the 
"Cosson"  law,  passed  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Iowa  State  Legislature.  It  has  even  been  in- 
timated that  this  law  is  responsible  for  the 
abolishment  of  the  red-light  districts,  though 
it  does  not  become  effective  until  July  4,  igog. 
There  has  always  been  abundance  of  laws 
against  prostitution  and  its  attendant  evils. 
The  trouble  has  always  been  that  they  were 
not  enforced. 

In  addition  to  the  statements  of  the  chief  of 
police  and  the  city  physician,  I  am  sending 
you  a  copy  of  a  voluntary  statement  received 
from  an  independent  investigator,  represent- 
ing a  civic  association  in  one  of  the  largest 
cities  of  the  Middle  West.  As  the  association 
desires  to  continue  these  investigations  in  other 
cities  for  some  time  to  come  we  are  only  al- 
lowed to  use  this  statement  on  the  express 
stipulation  that  the  name  of  the  investigator 
and  the  city  he  represents  is  suppressed  for  the 
time  being.    His  statement  is  as  follows: 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  457 

Mr.  J.  L.  Hamery. 

Dear  Sir:  After  a  careful  and  critical  ex- 
amination of  conditions  in  Des  Moines,  it  is 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I  extend  to  the 
citizens  of  your  city  my  hearty  congratula- 
tions upon  the  successful  progress  of  the 
campaign  for  civic  betterment.  Having  been 
particularly  interested  in  the  effort  made  here 
to  stamp  out  the  recognized  houses  of  prosti- 
tution, and  having  been  qualified  by  consider- 
able experience  in  the  investigation  of  all 
phases  of  the  social  evil  in  large  cities,  I  feel 
that  I  speak  with  some  degree  of  authority  on 
this  subject.  And  it  gives  me  great  pleasure 
to  say  to  you  and  Des  Moines  that  there  is  not 
now  in  this  city  a  recognized  and  admitted 
house  of  prostitution. 

There  are  not  any  considerable  number  of 
loose  women  to  be  seen  upon  the  streets,  and 
the  deportment  of  the  women  who  do  walk 
the  streets  of  Des  Moines  speaks  volumes 
in  praise  of  the  efficiency  of  your  police 
regulation. 

I  have  made  special  search  for  indications 
of  prostitutes  having  taken  up  residence  in  the 
city  at  large,  and  am  absolutely  convinced  that 
your  experience  has  proven  this  bugaboo  to 
be  wholly  chimerical.  This  conclusion  has 
been  amply  verified  by  interviews  I  have  had 
with  representative  business  and  professional 
men,  whose  homes  are  in  the  residential  dis- 
tricts of  your  city. 

The  evidences  of  activity  in  Des  Moines  real 


45^  WAR  ON  TRE 

estate  are  to  my  mind  conclusive  proor  that 
this  city  is  rising  to  a  proper  realization  and 
appreciation  of  its  opportunities  to  become  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  most  desirable  places  in 
America  for  homes,  educational  centers  and 
legitimate  business  enterprises.        (Signed) 

The  following  is  the  statement  of  Chief 
Miller.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Miller  as  chief 
was  unanimously  endorsed  by  the  press  and 
public.  He  is  the  first  chief  in  Des  Moines 
selected  from  the  ranks  and  appointed  entirely 
on  his  merits. 

STATEMENT  OF  CHIEF  OF  POLICE 
MILLER. 

I  have  been  a  member  of  the  Des  Moines 
police  force  for  over  seventeen  years,  filling 
every  position  from  patrolman  up.  I  was  ap- 
pointed Chief  of  Police  on  October  14,  iqgS. 
I  have  pleasure  in  submitting  the  following 
conclusions,  based  on  my  experience  as  a  police 
officer : 

Segregation  never  segregated  in  Des 
Moines.  The  most  prosperous  houses  with  the 
high-class  patronage  absolutely  refused  to  en- 
ter the  segregated  districts,  and  were  always 
able  to  command  sufficient  influence  to  enable 
them  to  defy  the  police. 

Landladies  in  segregated  districts,  by  reason 
of  severe  competition,  were  compelled  to  re- 
sort to  all  means  of  advertising,  which  includ- 
ed red  lights  over  the  doors,  the  serving  of 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  459 

liquors  and  other  refreshments,  orchestral 
music,  persistent  displaying  of  charms  by 
women  in  the  windows  and  other  means  of 
making  their  business  as  conspicuous  as  pos- 
sible, and  thereby  attracting  even  innocent 
spectators  to  the  vicinity  who  were  often 
robbed  by  attaches  and  hangers-on  from  the 
resorts.  The  segregated  districts  always  be- 
came notorious  and  the  evil  was  greatly 
augmented  thereby. 

Property  in  the  segregated  districts  was 
manipulated  by  money  sharks  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  complete  financial  control  over  the 
women,  who  in  their  slavery  and  despair  were 
often  driven  to  commit  desperate  crimes  in 
their  futile  endeavors  to  free  themselves  from 
the  hands  of  their  masters.  The  cleaning  up  of 
the  resorts  freed  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred of  these  women,  who  immediately  left  the 
city  and  have  not  been  replaced.  As  they  were 
well  known  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  lo- 
cate in  residence  districts  and  citizens  have 
taken  pleasure  in  keeping  us  posted  with  ref- 
erence to  suspicious  persons  in  the  suburbs. 

In  conclusion  will  say  that  the  remarkable 
freedom  of  the  city  from  crime,  immediately 
following  the  closing  of  resorts,  the  boom  in 
residence  and  city  real  estate  and  business  in 
general,  also  the  higher  moral  tone  of  the  city, 
is  so  pronounced  and  apparent  to  all  in  Des 
Moines,  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in  placing 
myself  on  record  with  the  deliberate  statement 
that  any  future  administration  will  hesitate 


46o  WAR  ON  THE 

before  attempting  to  again  place  the  city  of 
Des  Moines  in  the  "segregated"  class. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  G.  MILLER, 
Chief  of  Police. 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  CITY 
PHYSICIAN. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  questions  before 
municipal  governments  for  the  past  half  a 
century  has  been  the  controlling  and  the  suc- 
cessful handling  of  prostitution,  and  during 
the  last  ten  years  this  problem  has  become 
more  and  more  perplexing. 

Men  of  knowledge  and  familiar  with  this 
subject  have  given  this  problem  much  thought 
and  consideration  trying  to  devise  some  log- 
ical plan  that  would  lead  to  a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion. Segregation  has  been  argued  pro  and 
con;  licensing  and  physical  examination  have 
been  suggested  and  put  into  practice,  but  not 
until  recently  has  it  been  actually  demon- 
strated that  this  great  question  can  be  solved. 

All  great  cities  have  been  wrestling  with  this 
question  and  have  tried  various  methods,  and 
have  yet  to  find  a  satisfactory  method  by  which 
these  classes  can  be  controlled.  Prostitutes 
and  their  followers  are  no  small  factor  that  go 
to  make  up  a  city's  population,  and  they  will 
follow  their  vocation  to  some  extent  under  any 
circumstances  or  conditions. 

This  being  true,  it  has  on  the  other  hand 
been  proven  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  that 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  461 

this  class  of  traffic  can  be  almost  entirely 
abolished.  Prior  to  September  15th,  1908,  this 
city  had  what  is  commonly  known  as  a  "red- 
light  district"  covering  an  area  of  about  three 
square  blocks.  In  this  district  the  rowdy  and 
tough  element  naturally  congregated,  and  it 
was  an  every  day  occurrence  to  see  drunken 
brawls,  cutting  and  shooting  scraps,  and 
suicides;  everything,  in  fact,  that  would  be 
disgusting  and  annoying  to  the  sober-minded 
citizen.  It  was  an  every  night  occurrence  for 
ambulance  calls  to  come  from  this  district, 
where  some  unfortunate  had  been  stabbed  or 
shot  down,  or  an  inmate  of  one  of  the  dis- 
orderly houses  had  committed  or  made  the 
attempt  at  suicide. 

On  the  fifteenth  day  of  September,  1908,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Department  of  Public 
Safety  issued  an  order  to  the  effect  that  the 
"red-light  district"  would  no  longer  be  toler- 
ated, and  that  the  common  prostitute  and 
street-walker  would  be  prosecuted  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  the  law.  From  that  date  on  a 
gradual  decline  was  noticeable  in  the  emer- 
gency work,  and  the  calls  for  shooting  and  cut- 
ting affrays  were  few.  At  this  time  I  can  safe- 
ly say  that  emergency  work  coming  from  this 
source  has  decreased  ninety  per  cent. 

Whenever  you  have  a  consolidation  of  ele- 
ments which  appeals  to  the  rough  class,  viz., 
houses  of  ill-fame,  saloons  of  the  low  type,  and 
gambling  dens,  you  are  sure  to  have  more 
Clime  committed  and  vice  protected.    Do  away 


462  WAR  ON  THE 

entirely,  or  scatter  these  factors  in  crime  mid 
you  will  notice  a  decided  slump  in  your  police 
service  calls  relative  to  this  line  of  work. 

In  my  judgment  the  abolishment  of  the  "red- 
light  district,"  coupled  with  the  prosecution  of 
prostitute  and  street-walker,  has  proven  the 
most  satisfactory  solution  of  the  perplexing 
problem,  and  offers  more  protection  to  the 
home,  and  a  greater  inducement  to  the  pros- 
pective citizen,  and  keeps  the  criminal  class 
away  from  the  city's  gates.  In  conclusion,  will 
state  that  I  was  originally  opposed  to  the  sup- 
pression of  the  red-light  districts  and  believed 
it  would  result  in  making  matters  worse.  I 
base  all  the  foregoing  statements  on  my  four 
years'  experience. 

Respectfully, 
CLIFFORD  W.  LOSH, 

City  Physician. 
E.  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  463 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CONDITIONS  IN  LONDON. 

By  Miss  Lucy  A.  Hall,  Deaconess  o£  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  Chicago. 

George  R.  Sims  says,  "The  mother  of  cities 
lays  her  whole  heart  bare  to  no  man.  There  is 
no  man  living  who  has  fathomed  her  depths. 
There  is  no  man  living  who  has  mastered  her 
mysteries." 

For  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  especially 
there  have  been  emancipating  influences  and 
efforts  of  noblest  kinds  which  are  really  bring- 
ing, somewhat  gradually,  but  very  surely,  a 
new  London — a  city  that  is  winning  a  right  to 
be  viewed  as  a  centre  of  largest  endeavor  for 
civic  righteousness  that  history  can  so  far 
record. 

The  Bishop  of  London,  presiding  at  their 
National  Vigilance  Association,  July  20,  1909, 
had  a  right  to  say,  "We  have  succeeded  in 
getting  London  united  on  moral  questions." 
By  his  side  was  the  Archbishop  of  Westmin- 
ster, who  said  among  other  significant  words, 
for  the  Catholic  Church  that,  "While  we  work 
together  to  advance  the  object  of  the  Associa- 
tion and  its  dealings  with  this  terrible  traffic, 
we  should  also  make  every  possible  effort  to 


464  WAR  ON  THE 

build  up,  in  the  children  of  the  country,  a  defi- 
nite and  clear  belief  of  what  they  owe  to  their 
Maker  and  of  the  account  they  will  have  to 
give  Him  hereafter." 

The  Chief  Rabbi,  Dr.  Adler,  made  many 
vigorous  statements,  among  which  some  were 
unusually  impressive.  Speaking  of  the  White 
Slave  Traffic,  he  said,  "It  does  not  merely  af- 
fect the  welfare  of  the  English  people,  but  al- 
so the  welfare  of  the  entire  globe.  The  evil 
must  be  regarded  as  a  veritable  cancerous 
growth  on  the  body  politic,  which  must  be 
excised.  The  authorities  in  Argentina  have 
largely  succeeded  in  purifying  Buenos  Ayres." 
He  then  spoke  of  the  purpose  of  the  National 
Vigilance  Association,  and  said  it  was  "To 
obey  the  bidding  of  the  prophet,  that  which  is 
lost,  I  will  seek  again,  that  which  has  gone 
astray,  I  will  bring  back,  that  which  has  a 
wing  broken  I  will  bind  up,  and  that  which  is 
sick  I  will  strengthen." 

Seated  at  the  right  of  the  chairman  were 
Her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Albany, 
Alice,  Countess  of  Strafford,  the  Countess 
Dowager  of  Chichester,  and  Mrs.  Creighton. 
The  last  named  in  representing  the  women  of 
England  called  attention  to  the  need  of  educa- 
tional plans,  and  said,  "Sometimes  one  gets 
afraid  of  the  people  fighting  with  evil,  think- 
ing only  of  that  fight,  and  not  sufficiently  of 
the  building  up  that  is  needed  to  make  the 
right  so  strong,  that  it  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  wrong.    Don't  let  us  forget  to  let  it 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  465 

educate  ourselves  also,  and  to  make  it  for  each 
of  us  our  great  work  to  maintain  that  high 
and  healthy  public  opinion  which  will  make  it 
ever  more  and  more  difficult  for  evil  to  pre- 
vail." 

Sir  Percy  W.  Bunting,  M.  A.,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Association,  spoke  of  it  as  "an 
organization  of  the  helping  instincts  of  all  the 
churches,  based  on  the  mere  humanity  of  the 
case.  We  touch  here  the  fringe  of  the  greatest 
moral  problem  in  all  time."  Mr.  Donald  Mac- 
lean, Member  of  Parliament,  Mr.*  Archibald 
J.  Allen,  Mr.  Arthur  R.  More,  Sir  Francis 
Channing,  Member  of  Parliament,  Mr.  Bullock 
and  Mr.  Coote  spoke  hopefully  of  prospects 
insured.  This  was  really  a  platform  of  very 
earnest  people  of  differing  creeds  represent- 
ing Royalty,  representing  the  great  Law  Mak- 
ing Body,  different  organizations  and  the  great 
business  world. 

Among  those  in  attendance  were  Lady 
Hughes  Hunter,  Lady  Bunting,  Lady  Mc- 
Laren, Colonel  and  Mrs.  Young,  Lord  Rad- 
stock.  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Jackman,  Very  Rev. 
Father  Bannan,  Miss  Leigh  Brown,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Fox  Butlin,  and  Dr.  Wilbur  Crafts  of 
Washington,  D.  C.,  with  many  others,  making 
a  really  great  meeting — great  with  people  of 
diverse  thought  on  other  subjects,  great  in  the 
inspiration  gained,  great  in  assurance  of  in- 
creasing momentum  of  a  magnificent  endeavor 
that  should,  with  correlated  efforts  of  other 
National  Vigilance  Associations  bring  a  world 


466  WAR  ON  THE 

force  that  shall  be  mightier  than  the  evil  how- 
ever deeply  intrenched  that  may  be. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Committee  of 
the  International  Bureau  for  Suppression  of 
the  White  Slave  Traffic  there  was  a  demonstra- 
tion of  the  power  of  crystallizing  different  Na- 
tional organizations.  The  Bureau  is  strong  in 
its  members  and  leaders  and  especially  its  Gen- 
eral Secretary,  Wm.  Alex.  Coote,  who  has 
visited  every  capital  in  Europe  and  organized 
National  Committees  in  every  country  except 
Turkey.  He  has  won  Royal  recognition  in 
Germany  in  having  presented  to  him  by  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  a  diamond  monogram  as 
a  recognition  of  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  Ger- 
man girls.  The  President  of  the  French  Re- 
public has  made  him  a  Chevalier  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor.  King  Alfonso  of  Spain  has  made 
him  a  Cabellero  of  the  Order  of  Charles  III. 

At  this  day's  meeting,  W.  F.  Craies,  Esq., 
legal  advisor  presided.  Reports  were  read 
from  different  countries. 

From  Sweden,  came  the  word  that  the  Prin- 
cess Royal  had  accepted  the  Presidency  of  the 
National  Committee  and  attended  nearly 
every  Committee  meeting,  which  was  a  guar- 
antee and  stimulus  to  the  success  of  the  work. 
Efforts  for  legislation  and  plans  for  assisting 
girl  travelers  are  among  the  good  works. 

From  Switzerland,  among  other  good  meth- 
ods for  defeating  vice.  Government  has  legis- 
lated against  the  abuse  of  the  Poste  Restante, 
providing  that  no  minor  can  be  allowed  to  re- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  467 

ceive  correspondence  without  a  permit  or 
authorization  from  parents. 

From  Germany,  fifteen  traffickers  had  been 
condemned  and  forty-two  girls  re-patriated  as 
some  of  the  results  of  their  National  Com- 
mittee. They  are  also  working  toward  strength- 
ening their  laws. 

From  Egypt  came  news  of  development  in 
spite  of  many  difficulties.  Seven  hundred 
fifty-nine  girls  of  minor  age  had  been  stopped 
and  placed  in  hands  of  their  respective  Con- 
suls, 485  of  them  being  Greeks.  Three  hun- 
dred ten  girls  have  been  rescued.  Forty-six 
souteneurs  denounced,  22  of  whom  are  exiled. 
Thirty  minors  were  re-patriated. 

Canada  has  a  strong  new  law  that  with  the 
impulse  of  the  International  Council  of  Wo- 
men held  in  June  brings  the  question  squarely 
to  the  front. 

From  the  United  States  reports  showed  ag- 
gressive work  on  the  part  of  voluntary  organ- 
izations, state's  attorneys,  and  federal  attor- 
neys in  vigorous  law  enforcement,  and  effec- 
tive new  laws  enacted,  with  good  h>pe  of 
further  legislation,  and  some  diligence  n  ed- 
ucational plans  through  public  gatherings  and 
sending  literature  where  it  has  proven  to  be 
the  needed  help  in  many  communities. 

Mr.  Coote  referred  to  the  deputation  to  the 
Home  Office  of  March  30,  which  had  been  ful- 
ly reported  at  a  previous  meeting.  He  re- 
gretted now  that  owing  to  other  urgent  mat- 
ters before  Parliament  their  bill  which  met 

30 


468  WAR  ON  THE 

such  encouragement  might  not  be  brought  for- 
ward at  the  present  session. 

Plans  were  made  for  delegates  to  the  Con- 
gress of  the  International  Bureau  to  be  held 
in  Madrid  in  May,  igio. 

Announcement  was  made  for  a  conference 
of  station  workers  in  Neuchatel,  June  2,  3  and 
4,  1910. 

From  these  two  great  meetings,  it  would  be 
discovered  to  any  in  attendance,  that  there  is 
a  purpose,  and  loyalty  and  persistence,  char- 
acterizing the  people  and  their  methods,  which 
is  just  as  readily  discovered  in  their  everyday 
work. 

Several  similar  and  strong  organizations  are 
doing  thoroughly  good  and  effective  work. 
The  British  Committee  for  the  Abolition  of 
State  Regulation  of  Vice,  under  the  efficient 
leadership  of  Henry  J.  Wilson,  Member  of 
Parliament,  is  one  of  merit.  The  London 
Council  for  the  Promotion  of  Public  Morality 
with  the  Bishop  of  London  as  chairman,  is  an 
organiz^ition  standing  for  justice  and  skilled 
means  m  the  obtaining. 

The  societies  known  as  preventive  are  num- 
erous. The  Girls'  Friendly  Society  of  the 
Church  of  England,  is  a  splendid  plan  covering 
truly  what  its  name  implies,  being  real  friends 
to  its  members.  Their  work  includes  clubs, 
classes,  and  a  most  careful  record,  copy  of 
which  is  sent  ahead  to  other  cities  or  countries 
in  case  of  removal,  so  that  there  are  friends 
to  meet  them  and  continue  the  chain  of  friend- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  469 

ship,  reporting  back  to  the  national  office  from 
time  to  time,  sustaining  a  relation  to  the  girls 
wherever  they  go,  friendship  awaiting  them 
through  record  made. 

The  Church  Army  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land is  doing  a  most  beautiful  and  many  sided 
service,  chiefly  among  the  criminal,  outcast, 
careless  and  neglected  classes.  They  connect 
with  the  Probation  System  and  help  many  who 
otherwise  would  go  to  the  prisons,  restoring 
many  to  their  families  and  places  in  society. 
Their  many  departments  include  the  League 
of  Friends  of  the  Poor,  working  toward  re- 
moving causes  of  distress,  giving  employment 
where  warranted,  planning  labor  homes  where 
direction  is  given  to  expenditures  and  habits. 
The  Emigration  Department  seeks  to  farther 
locate  some  who  are  better  for  being  quite 
away  from  old  associates.  The  Women's  So- 
cial Department  is  very  successful.  Industrial 
homes  whether  for  rescue  or  preventive  cases 
have  been  of  great  service.  Women's  clubs 
have  held  together  those  who  have  passed 
through  these  homes.  A  large  work-room  af- 
fords work  for  many  who  otherwise  would 
find  no  way.  Fresh  air  homes,  dispensaries, 
factory  girls'  club,  with  the  evangelists'  train- 
ing home,  the  missions,  women's  evangelistic 
departments,  needle-work  guild,  out-door  res- 
cue work  and  rescue  worker's  training  home, 
rescue  workers'  union,  the  Church  Army 
Brotherhood  and  the  many  other  departments 


470  WAR  ON  THE 

make  a  very  great  plant  yielding  most  beauti- 
ful fruitage  in  the  lives  of  those  helped. 

From  their  rescue  training  home  the  sisters 
go  forth,  two  by  two,  to  seek  during  the  night 
hours  for  the  poor  wanderers  who  haunt  the 
thoroughfares.  On  such  an  evening  out  where 
London  is  worst,  around  Piccadilly,  Blooms- 
bury,  Haymarket,  among  the  showy  throngs, 
and  in  the  less  lighted  streets  where  distressed, 
cowering,  fearful  ones  wander,  let  us  come  with 
these  workers  and  note  the  many  who  are 
willing  to  stop  and  receive  a  flower  or  a  mes- 
sage or  daintily  prepared  letter,  and  see  the 
surprise  when  they  feel  that  there  are  earnest 
souls  who  wish  to  be  sincerely  kind.  Many 
are  willing  to  stop  and  tell  us  their  difficulties, 
some  we  will  wish  to  see  in  the  courts  next 
day. 

But  in  all  our  going  about,  morning,  noon 
or  night,  we  will  have  to  admit  our  surprise 
that  notwithstanding  the  many  individual  in- 
stances of  wrecked  lives  who  are  influencing 
downward  too  many  others,  there  is  not  a 
street  in  all  London  where  we  would  not  feel 
as  safe  as  in  the  very  best  business  streets  of 
Chicago  or  New  York.  There  are  no  dens  of 
continuous  growing  infamy.  Workers  in  all 
organizations  are  on  the  hunt  for  them.  Police 
officials  are  alert  and  take  the  initiative  in 
many  instances;  if  a  plant  of  this  noxious  kind 
is  set  out,  it  is  uprooted  before  it  has  much 
chance  for  spreading  its  influence.  Business 
men  say,  "We  will  not  have  them,  no  tolera- 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  471 

tion  is  given,  when  known;  there  are  no  houses 
of  prostitution,  known  as  such  for  longer  than 
till  they  can  be  taken  before  the  courts." 

The  strenuous  efforts  of  the  organizations 
mentioned  heretofore  have  been  directed  so 
long  toward  these  things  through  preventive 
plans  and  legislation  and  wholesome  law-en- 
forcement that  there  is  no  longer  any  doubt 
concerning  the  wish  of  the  people  or  their  re- 
presentatives in  official  places. 

Since  the  reign  of  toleration  of  vice  was  brok- 
en by  the  strong  word  of  government  in  1886, 
there  has  been  a  winning  battle,  which  though 
still  on,  has  brought  so  much  of  victory  that 
we  can  believe  that  completeness  of  triumph 
will  dawn,  and  at  just  about  the  time  that  Eng- 
land shakes  itself  from  the  related  enslaving 
chains  of  intemperance  and  the  obstinate  in- 
dustrial system. 


472  WAR  ON  THE 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

FOR  GOD'S  SAKE  DO  SOMETHING. 

The  testimony  already  given  in  these  pages 
leaves  no  room  to  doubt  the  existence  of  a 
widespread,  hideous  commerce  in  girls.  In 
conclusion,  as  a  sort  of  judicial  summing  up  of 
the  case  against  the  most  odius  criminals  of  the 
world,  we  quote  Judge  John  R.  Newcomer  of 
Chicago,  who  says: 

"Within  one  week  I  had  seven  different  let- 
ters from  fathers,  from  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
on  the  north,  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  on  the  south, 
asking  me  in  God's  name  to  do  something  to 
help  them  find  their  daughters,  because  they 
had  come  to  Chicago  and  they  had  never 
heard  from  them  afterwards. 

"If  you  mean  by  the  White  Slave  Traffic  the 
placing  of  young  girls  in  a  brothel  for  a  price, 
it  most  undoubtedly  is  a  real  fact,  based  upon 
statements  that  have  been  made  in  my  court 
during  the  past  three  months  by  defendants, 
both  men  and  women,  who  have  pleaded  guilty 
to  that  crime,  and  in  a  sense  it  is  both  interstate 
and  international. 

"Not  one,  but  many  shipments,  of  which  I 
have  personal  knowledge  based  upon  testi- 
mony of  people  who  have  pleaded  guilty,  many 
shipments  come  from  Paris  and  other  Euro- 
pean cities  to  New  York;  and  from  New  York 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  473 

to  Chicago  and  other  western  points;  and  from 
Chicago  as  a  distributing  point  to  the  West 
and  the  Southwest;  and  on  the  western  coast, 
coming  in  to  San  Francisco  and  other  ports 
there.  Yes,  it  is  a  real  fact;  and  it  is  some- 
thing that  we  have  got  to  take  notice  of,  and 
something  that,  while  it  may  have  been  devel- 
oped largely  during  the  last  ten  years,  the  na- 
tional government  itself  has  recently  taken 
notice  of  its  existence. 

"There  are  three  specific  classes  of  what  we 
might  call  white  slave  traders.  First,  the  man 
or  woman  who  conducts  the  brothel;  and  if  I 
had  more  time  I  would  like  to  tell  you  some- 
thing about  the  ways  and  means  used  by  these 
people  to  keep  at  least  a  large  number  of  their 
girls  there.  Second,  the  man  who  acts  as  a 
sort  of  broker,  dealing  in  girls,  transferring 
them  from  one  brothel  to  another.  The  third 
class  is  the  lowest  of  all — those  men  and  wom- 
en, largely  women,  who  make  a  business  of 
procuring  girls  for  the  brothel.  These  three 
classes  make  a  living  off  that  traffic  and  the 
profit  therefrom." 

Bishop  Anderson  of  the  Episcopal  diocese 
of  Chicago  says:  "The  mind  of  the  public  is 
moral,  and  if  it  can  be  convinced  of  the  actual 
state  of  affairs  the  public  conscience  will  soon 
be  aroused  and  something  good  is  bound  to  be 
accomplished.  Accurate  and  conservative  in- 
formation, if  spread  broadcast,  will  go  far  to 
accomplish  the  great  work  which  we  have  in 
hand." 


474  WAR  ON  THE 

St.  Paul  had  a  like  confidence  in  the  public 
intelligence  and  conscience,  and  in  the  useful- 
ness of  information  spread  broadcast  to  end 
the  White  Slave  Traffic.  The  apostle  wrote 
on  this  subject  in  2  Timothy,  3:6-9:  "For  of 
these  are  they  that  creep  into  houses  and  lead 
captive  silly  women,  laden  with  sins,  led  away 
with  divers  lusts,  ever  learning  and  never  able 
to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Now 
as  Jannes  and  Jambres  withstood  Moses  so 
do  these  men  also  resist  the  truth,  men  of  cor- 
rupt mind,  reprobate  concerning  the  faith.  But 
they  shall  proceed  no  further,  for  their  folly 
shall  be  known  unto  all  men,  as  theirs  also 
came  to  be."  St.  Paul  here  intimates  that  pub- 
licity will  overthrow  the  traffickers  in  women 
as  the  opponents  of  Moses  were  overwhelmed 
in  Egypt. 

In  this  confidence  we  are  sending  forth  this 
volume,  to  spread  broadcast  the  testimony  of 
many  witnesses,  whose  character  and  intelli- 
gence none  can  impeach.  We  are  certain  that 
if  the  facts  set  forth  in  this  book  by  lawyers, 
physicians,  missionaries  and  other  workers  are 
understood  by  the  English-speaking  peoples 
the  White  Slave  Traffic  will  be  immediately 
and  permanently  reduced  and  speedily  abol- 
ished throughout  the  Anglo-Saxon  world.  All 
Christendom  must  follow  if  we  lead  worthily 
in  this  reform.  Japan  will  quickly  join  us  and 
is  already  doing  so.  Human  nature  itself,  once 
it  is  enlightened  as  to  the  facts  of  commerce 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  475 

in  girls,  must  almost  necessarily  abolish  the 
cursed  trade. 

Surely  every  one  whose  own  mind  is  not 
debauched  will  take  some  part  in  this  most  es- 
sential and  inevitable  reform.  As  General 
Booth  of  the  Salvation  Army  said  so  many 
times,  on  one  of  his  tours  in  this  country  and 
around  the  world  a  dozen  years  ago: 

"FOR  GOD'S  SAKE  DO  SOMETHING. 
IT  WILL  COST  YOU  TIME,  IT  WILL 
COST  YOU  MONEY,  IT  MAY  COST  YOU 
REPUTATION,  BUT  FOR  GOD'S  SAKE 
DO  SOMETHING." 

About  the  year  1877  an  excursion  steamer, 
the  "Princess  Alice,"  was  sunk  by  another 
ship  in  the  Thames,  near  London,  and  six  or 
seven  hundred  happy  excursionists  were 
drowned  in  a  few  minutes.  At  the  inquest,  as  is 
told,  a  gentleman  asked  permission  to  testify, 
as  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  disaster.  He 
told  what  he  saw  and  said  that  he  was  most 
impressed  by  a  young  mother,  who  held  her 
baby  as  high  as  her  hands  could  reach,  as  she 
sank  and  rose  again  and  again,  hoping  that 
some  one  would  rescue  the  child — but  in  vain. 
The  judge  asked  the  witness,  "What  did  you 
do  for  those  sinking  hundreds,  and  for  that 
perishing  mother  and  baby?"  The  man  an- 
swered, "I — I — I  did  nothing."  The  judge 
replied,  "You  saw  all  that,  and  did  nothing — 
nothing?" — and  they  hissed  him  from  the  court 
room. 

The  great  Judge  will  hold  an  inquest  on  the 


476  WAR  ON  THE 

thousands  who  are  engulfed  every  month  in 
the  black  waters  of  the  vice  markets  of  our 
great  cities.  Shall  He  wither  us  with  His 
wrath  as  we  answer,  "Nothing,"  or  shall  He 
say  as  He  said  of  one  long  ago, 
"She  hath  done  what  she  could"? 

K  A.  B. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  477 

WHY  ARE  YOU  WEEPING,  SISTER? 

By  Herbert  Kaufman. 

Why  are  you  weeping,  Sister? 
Why  are  you  sitting  alone? 

I'm  bent  and  gray 
And  I've  lost  the  way! 
All  my  tomorrows  were  yesterday! 
I  traded  them  off  for  a  wanton's  pay. 
I  bartered  my  graces  for  silks  and  laces 
My  heart  I  sold  for  a  pot  of  gold— 
Now  I'm  old. 

Why  did  you  do  it,  Sister, 
Why  did  you  sell  your  soul? 

I  was  foolish  and  fair  and  my  form  was  rare! 

I  longed  for  life's  baubles  and  did  not  care! 

When  we  know  not  the  price  to  be  paid,  we 
dare. 

I  listened  when  Vanity  lied  to  me 

And  I  ate  the  fruit  of  The  Bitter  Tree- 
Now  I'm  old. 

Why  are  you  lonely.  Sister? 
Where  have  your  friends  all  gone? 

Friends  I  have  none,  for  I  went  the  road 
Where  women  must  harvest  what  men  have 
.sowed 


478  WAR  ON  THE 

And  they  never  come  back  when  the  field  is 

mowed. 
They  gave  the  lee  of  the  cup  to  me 
But  I  was  blind  and  would  not  see- 
Now  I'm  old. 


Where  are  your  lovers,  Sister, 
Where  are  your  lovers  now? 

My  lovers  were  many  but  all  have  run 
I  betrayed  and  deceived  them  every  one 
And  they  lived  to  learn  what  I  had  done. 
A  poisoned  draught  from  my  lips  they  quaffed 
And  I  who  knew  it  was  poisoned,  laughed — 
Now  I'm  old. 

Will  they  not  help  you,  Sister, 
In  the  name  of  your  common  sin? 

There  is  no  debt,  for  my  lovers  bought. 
They  paid  my  price  for  the  things  I  brought. 
I  made  the  terms  so  they  owe  me  naught. 
I  have  no  hold  for  't  was  I  who  sold. 
One  offered  his  heart,  but  mine  was  cold — 
Now  I'm  old. 


Where  is  that  lover,  Sister? 

He  will  come  when  he  knows  your  need. 

I  broke  his  hope  and  I  stained  his  pride. 
I  dragged  him  down  in  the  undertide. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  479 

Alone  and  forsaken  by  me  he  died. 
The  blood  that  he  shed  is  on  my  head 
For  all  the  while  I  knew  that  he  bled — 
Now  I'm  old. 


Is  there  no  mercy,  Sister, 

For  the  wanton  whose  course  is  spent? 

When  a  woman  is  lovely  the  world  will  fawn. 
But  not  when  her  beauty  and  grace  are  gone, 
When  her  face  is  seamed  and  her  limbs  are 

drawn. 
I've  had  my  day  and  I've  had  my  play. 
In  my  winter  of  loneliness  I  must  pay — 

Now  I'm  old. 


What  of  the  morrow,  Sister? 
How  shall  the  morrow  be? 

I  must  feed  to  the  end  upon  remorse. 
I  must  falter  alone  in  my  self-made  course. 
I  must  stagger  alone  with  my  self-made  cross. 
For  I  bartered  my  graces  for  silks  and  laces 
My  heart  I  sold  for  a  pot  of  gold — 
Now  I'm  old. 


48o  WAR  ON  THE 

THE  RED  ROSE. 

By  A.  A.  P. 

A  white-faced  wreck  upon  the  bed  she  lay^ 
And  reaped  the  whirlwind  of  her  yesterday. 
Before  her  rose  the  record  of  the  past, 
And  sin's  dark  wages  all  were  due  at  last. 

A  gentle  messenger  of  God  was  there, 
Who  kissed  her  brow  and  smoothed  her  tan- 
gled hair; 
And,  in  the  tend'rest  accents,  told  of  One 
Who  died  for  her — God's  well-beloved  Son. 

"No  power  could  ransom  such  as  me,"  she 

cried, 
"No  cleansing  stream  my  crimson  sins  could 

hide; 
For  souls  like  yours  there  may  be  pardon  free; 
The  Son  of  God  would  never  stoop  to  me." 


"I  bring  a  gift  of  love,"  the  listener  said, 
"This  dewy  rose  of  richest,  deepest  red. 
Will  you  not   take    it?      Have    you  not    the 

power?" 
The  trembling  fingers  reached  and  grasped  the 

flower. 

"My  sister,"  said  the  giver,  "Just  as  I 
Held  out  to  you  that  rose  of  scarlet  dye, 
God  offers  you  salvation  from  above. 
Through  Jesus'  precious  blood — His  gift  of 

Icve. 


WHITE  SLAVE  TRADE  481 

"Reach  out  and  take  it  without  doubt  or  fear." 
**Is  it  so  simple?"  sobbed  the  girl,  "So  near?"  . 
"Ay,  nearer  to  you  than  myself  He  stands. 
Eternal  life  within  His  pierced  hands." 

"So  simple,  Lord?"  she  moaned.    "Nothing 

to  do, 
But  reach  and  take  eternal  life  from  you? 
I  take  it,  Lord!"    And  lo,  the  dying  eyes 
Were  radiant  with  the  light  of  Paradise! 

O  death  triumphant!    Victory  complete! 
Today  she  worships  at  her  Savior's  feet. 
Lost  one,  God  offers  you  for  Jesus'  sake 
Eternal  life.    Will  you  not  reach  and  take? 


//A 


1,0'- 


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